Abu Dhabi: Children came home worried and disturbed after witnessing Thursday morning’s accident involving two school buses and a public transport vehicle, parents told Gulf News.
The crash occurred at about 7.30am on Khaleej Al Arabi Street, a route taken by many other buses to get to schools located in Mohammad Bin Zayed City. The buses involved belonged to Belvedere British School and Al Dhafra Private Schools.
“My daughter came home very disturbed. She hadn’t eaten anything and told me that their bus had been on the scene when the other vehicles collided,” R.J., a 36-year-old homemaker from India, told Gulf News.
R.J.’s 12-year-old daughter studies at another private school located in Mohammad Bin Zayed City, and she said she had come to know of the accident when the bus attendant called her to inform that her children on the bus were safe.
Her 12-year-old daughter said the hour-long bus ride had taken more than two hours on Thursday, and that they reached at the end of their second class.
“I generally do not worry about the safety of school transport, and this is the first time I have heard of such an accident. I am just very, very glad that my children are safe, and I hope the injured children will heal quickly,” she added.
T. Ahmed, another mother, said her children had also seen the scene of the accident.
“I do not like the long bus journey my children have to make every day to get to school, and the road on which the collision occurred is a highway. This just adds to my concern,” said the 37-year-old administrative officer.
Her children saw the ambulances and the police rushing to the scene.
“We don’t have a choice but to let our children use school transport. But the reckless driving on highways during rush hour is a real problem, especially as bus drivers are constrained for time and in a hurry to get to school in time,” she added.
