Rural Women NZ is urging bus companies to follow the lead of Ritchies Transport, which installed extra mirrors on its buses following the 2012 death of a five-year-old West Coast boy as he was dropped off by a school bus operated by the company.

An inquest into the death by Christchurch coroner Richard McElrea last month found the driver was unable to see down the full-length of the left-hand side of the bus at the time of the accident. Since then extra mirrors have been retro-fitted to the company's fleet to improve visibility for its drivers.

Rural Women NZ national president Wendy McGowan says such blind spots are likely to be a problem with many school buses, 'and we urge other companies to install extra mirrors where necessary to ensure there is good visibility down the full length of the bus”.

Children are unpredictable, and as in this case, may step out on to the road, says Wendy.
'The cost of retro-fitting mirrors is a small price to pay to keep children safer around school buses and hopefully avoid a similar tragedy.”

Rural Women NZ has long campaigned for better safety around school buses, with a strong focus on raising awareness of the 20km/h speed limit in both directions when passing a bus stopped for children to get on or off.