Madam, - In New York, our child's school bus had numerous physical safety features in addition to seatbelts. The bus was bright yellow, it had oversized warning lights and doors on both sides to facilitate drop-offs on either side of the road. It had a supervisor on board who ensured that behaviour was appropriate and helped smaller children and those with special needs. It was illegal to pass it by when was stopped with its warning lights flashing, whichever side of the road you were driving on.
As I listened to radio reports on the bus crash in Meath, I was a long way from New York - in Sligo. I watched as a school bus dropped children off at a secondary school. Drivers, clearly irritated, accelerated around the side of the bus and had to come to a halt as a line of children crossed the road. The drivers' sole thought was evidently to get ahead of the coming stream of teenagers.
We need a full response to this tragedy: proper buses, appropriate to their use, accompanied by appropriate legislation ensuring good road behaviour by other vehicles. - Yours, etc,
TOMMY WEIR,
Dromahair,
Co Leitrim.
*****
Madam, - Thanks to Monday's RTÉ Prime Time programme "Tax Me If You Can", I now know the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance.
While the former is straightforward tax-dodging by illegal means, the latter is tax-dodging by using (and, perhaps, abusing) the plethora of legal loopholes created by politicians for the benefit of a small number of wealthy individuals.
It is indeed ironic that this programme, which highlighted the loss of untold millions to the Exchequer, was broadcast on the same day as the dreadful accident in Co Meath which will, no doubt, focus attention once again on the dilapidated and dangerous state of the school bus fleet. - Yours, etc,
M.D. KENNEDY,
Silchester Park,
Glenageary,
Co Dublin.
*****
Madam, - On the day after the tragic bus crash in Co Meath I travelled to the midlands and back. I tried to keep the speed limit; I was in the minority. All kinds of vehicles, from large lorries to small cars, whizzed past me both on my inside and outside. Many crossed double white lines in the face of oncoming traffic. Many tailgated me for a period before they passed. The pièce de résistance was a Mercedes which crossed four lanes of traffic from the outside to the inside lane to get into the Liffey Valley shopping centre. Needless to say, there was no indicator light to show intent. Many cars were travelling at 100 kph in the bus lanes.
Your Editorial of May 24th misses the point. We live in a society that believes arrogance will get you everywhere; and, from the Government down, we really don't care who gets killed on the roads. - Yours, etc,
A. LEAVY,
1 Shielmartin Drive,
Sutton,
Dublin 13.
*****
Madam, - In light of the safety questions raised by Monday's tragedy, I wish to point out that it is not only the school bus system that needs examination. Anyone who takes the five o'clock train to Sligo from Connolly Station on any Friday can see the overcrowding that occurs and realise there is an accident waiting to happen. - Yours, etc,
PATRICK CONNELL,
Brockagh,
Mullingar,
Co Westmeath.