China adopts school bus safety regulation

 　　BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The State Council, China's cabinet, has approved a draft of regulations on school bus safety management, according to a statement issued Thursday.

　　The statement, released after a State Council meeting presided over by Premier¹ Wen Jiabao on Wednesday, said that relevant authorities began drafting the regulation last November based on domestic and overseas experience and opinions solicited² from the public.

　　The draft regulation asks local governments to ensure that students attend nearby schools or boarding schools so as to "reduce students' traffic risks."

　　For rural areas that cannot ensure nearby schooling³ or convenient public transport to schools, measures should be taken to ensure students' access to school buses.

　　Local governments above the county level are responsible for school bus safety management in their jurisdiction⁴ and central departments are obliged to "guide and supervise" school bus safety, the draft says.

　　"Security staff should accompany students in school buses," it says.

　　The regulation specifies⁵ stricter requirements for the technical conditions of school buses and bus drivers' qualifications. It also imposes limitations on school buses' maximum speed and load.

　　It also grants traffic priority to school buses.

　　Those who illegally use school buses, offer illicit⁶ school bus services or violate security management rules will be punished according to law, says the regulation, which will undergo further revision before being published.

　　Wang Jingbo, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, described the document a significant move for children in rural areas, who often lack access to safe and convenient commuting⁷ services due to poverty and insufficient⁸ government funding.

　　Wang said granting traffic priority to school buses is a "put-people-first" effort which hopefully will stimulate⁹ more care for young students.

　　A string of school bus accidents occurred in China last year, prompting the government to introduce new safety regulations and standards for school buses to allay¹⁰ public worries.

　　The most serious was in November, when 21 students were killed after their nine-seat minivan, which was crammed¹¹ with 62 preschool students, crashed in northwestern Gansu province.

　　Last Wednesday, 10 children, all under the age of five, were injured when their school bus turned on its side in Harbin, capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang province. The children and the bus driver were hospitalized.

　　The school bus belonged to a privately-run kindergarten and the bus driver was the kindergarten's director, according to the parents of one of the injured children.

　　Premier Wen Jiabao promised in his government work report on March 5 that authorities will "enhance school bus and campus safety to ensure children's safety."

　　As harsher punishments have been imposed on officials regarding school bus accidents, local governments have promulgated¹² measures to strengthen school bus safety. In Lanzhou, capital city of Gansu, all school buses are to be installed with satellite positioning devices by the end of 2012.

　　The stricter rules on school buses have elevated bus sales in China, which reached 4,577 units in the first two months of this year, valued at some 730 million yuan (115.87 million U.S. dollars), according to the sales data of 50 Chinese bus-makers monitored by Chinabus.info, an industry website.

　　China's school bus market is estimated at 500,000 to 1 million units, prompting several foreign automakers to plan to snatch a piece of the market share.

1 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

2 solicited   

v.恳求( solicit的过去式和过去分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• He's already solicited their support on health care reform. 他已就医疗改革问题请求他们的支持。 来自辞典例句
• We solicited ideas from Princeton University graduates and under graduates. 我们从普林斯顿大学的毕业生与大学生中征求意见。 来自辞典例句

3 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

4 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

5 specifies   

v.指定( specify的第三人称单数 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性

参考例句：

• The third clause of the contract specifies steel sashes for the windows. 合同的第三款指定使用钢窗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

7 commuting   

交换（的）

参考例句：

• I used the commuting time to read and answer my mail. 我利用上下班在汽车中的时间来阅读和答复给我的函电。
• Noncommuting objects are as real to the mathematicians as commuting objects. 对于数学家来说，不可交换的对象与可交换的对象是一样真实的。

8 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

9 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

10 allay   

v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)

参考例句：

• The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
• They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。

11 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

12 promulgated   

v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等）

参考例句：

• Hence China has promulgated more than 30 relevant laws, statutes and regulations. 中国为此颁布的法律、法规和规章多达３０余项。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The shipping industry promulgated a voluntary code. 航运业对自律守则进行了宣传。 来自辞典例句