www.chinabuse.org: After several fatal bus accidents focused public attention on the issue. A long-haul bus fire in Henan province killed 41 people in July last year, and a school bus crash in Gansu last November killed 19 preschoolers and 2 adults.  The central government has responded by issuing new regulations for bus design and operation.Flat-lying sleeper buses will be phased out, says Zhang Wei, from the Higer bus company, with new registrations being cut off since the start of the year.

"In the end of last year it was forbidden by the government because it's not safe enough. When some accidents happen in the car, the passengers cannot get out of this bus quickly."

Higer is instead offering reclining seats in it's long-distance buses. "It's very comfortable."

Higer VIP Bus KLQ6142BAE4L

School buses have come under particular scrutiny after public outrage at recent accidents. Government regulations which took effect in April this year are forcing manufacturers to produce a new generation of buses for China's schoolchildren.  School buses are defined as vehicles with more than seven seats carrying children to or from school, and other vehicles on the road must yield to them, according to the new regulations. 

Central authorities are said to be providing funding for new school buses, and Dean Colson of the American Blue Bird corporation was at the show to exhibit their classic American yellow school bus.

"We've been in the process and we continue to be in the process of looking for a partner.  We know that to be in the Chinese market we need to produce in China.  So we're here basically talking to different partners, and hopefully very soon we'll be able to announce who we're going to be partnering with in China."

Bus makers are stepping in to fill the need for safer buses in China, and the rush is on to provide features that their competitors don't. Higer has a computerized system which sends data about a bus's speed and location to a control center. The bus is also equipped with multiple emergency exits.

"We have one emergency exit on the end of this cabin, and this is another emergency exit, which is controlled by the driver. When he push this button, it will automatically break this window."

While it's encouraging to see so much attention being lavished on safety features, the success of the new push for safety relies heavily on local authorities strictly enforcing the new regulations.

"Obviously the new standard is a great step in the right direction, and you have to start somewhere. I think China's taking that step forward, they're starting with the regulation.  And over time I think it'll move more and more towards performance specifications, what sort of crash resistance do you really want to provide, and that's really what our vehicle is designed around. In the U.S. we have a lot of specifications about how much force this vehicle can take, and it's a lot of force, so I think that in China over time, that's exactly what will happen as well."

Source : CRIENGLISH.com

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