To maintain safety and security of school buses, the Directorate General of Education in Dakhliyah is installing safety devices in 32 school buses this year.

Speaking to Muscat Daily, Ali bin Ahmed al Baridi, head of Student Transportation Department in Directorate General of Education in Dakhliyah, said, “The project started in the academic year 2016-17. We installed safety devices in 13 school buses until 2019 in Dakhliyah. In 2020, we installed devices in 18 buses so far, and plan to cover 14 more in the next few months.” 

Part of the initiative titled, ‘Darb al Salama’ (Road Safety), the project was announced in 2017. “These novel devices, include a GPS tracker, a controller to start and stop the bus, and a motion detection alarm system in case a student is left inside the bus,” Baridi said.

The project is a real addition to the security and safety procedures in school buses, said Baridi.

“Darb al Salama initiative includes a number of services such as informing parents when the bus leaves the school and when it approaches the student’s home. The initiative also includes informing the school if a student is present on the bus when it reaches the school.”