Vindicated – Why Daryl Vaz was right about rural school buses

There is always a hue and cry after the fact.

Earlier this week, a coaster bus carrying school children crashed into a median at around 8.00 am at the May Pen entrance to the Williamsfield Toll Road.

Over forty people were injured, and the bus, which should carry a maximum of 28 passengers, was transporting way over that.

Children’s lives were endangered, and the coaster bus crumbled like a can of sardines on impact. Fortunately, no one was killed, but there are lessons to be learned from this terrible accident.

Parents waited anxiously outside the hospital to find out about the welfare of their children.

By all accounts, the bus driver was driving recklessly. There is no information as to whether he was intoxicated or under the influence of marijuana or any other drugs. A video is doing the rounds with the driver clearly swerving and driving recklessly with no care for the welfare of his passengers.

Last year, Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz spearheaded the implementation of the Rural School Bus System, importing fit-for-purpose, robust buses. Initially, the Ministry brought in 110 of these buses from the United States.  This move was mired in controversy, with some calling on the Minister to purchase new coaster buses, which would be cheaper and easier to repair. Then accusations were levelled at a company called ELHYDRO, involved in bringing in the buses, with some making unsubstantiated aspersions as to whether it received kickbacks.

The imported buses were equipped with safety features and advanced technology. These vehicles would not crumble as this coaster bus did in Clarendon, endangering the lives of school children. The Rural Bus System would see trained drivers having to adhere to stipulated practices, with the safety of passengers coming first.

You cannot have cowboys driving on the roads of Jamaica like it is the wild, wild West, imperilling the lives of school children. Minister Vaz talked about this, and this was one of the reasons behind implementing the Rural Bus System, which began by transporting between 15,000 to 20,000 students a day. 

What transpired in Clarendon proves his point.

This should be a lesson to all Jamaicans and put to bed the vapid arguments against the Government’s Rural School Bus System. 

Minister Vaz has said that over the next two years, his Ministry will import an additional 200 to 300 buses to service the over 300,000 student population in Jamaica.

He did not reflexively jump to say “I told you so” as news of this horror crash with an overloaded bus transporting children gripped the country. Rather, he dispassionately declared: “I stand by the statement that the Rural School Buses are the best-built-for-purpose buses to transport our students across rural Jamaica.. They say the proof of the pudding is in the eating…the buses withstand impact and offer much greater protection than any of the alternative transport methods the Opposition have offered. 

“I hope all persons injured will make a full recovery and that the authorities will hold those responsible accountable. I remain resolute to increase the number of rural school buses available to our students and invite all well-thinking Jamaicans if they have not already done so…to lend their support to this initiative.”

The parents of those school children in the coaster bus crash must have suffered anguish and torment at the hospital. Road fatalities are increasing in Jamaica, and the recklessness and wanton abandonment of due care is symptomatic of where Jamaica is today. 

Greater care must be taken while transporting children.

On this subject, Minister Vaz said: “In recent years, we have seen consistently high levels of road fatalities. Among the road user category, children remain among the most vulnerable. Statistics from the Island Traffic Authority state that as of April 15, 2026, 74 lives were lost in 65 fatal crashes. Data also indicates that, as of April 14, eight children have died in seven fatal crashes so far this year compared to a total of 18 child fatalities from 15 crashes in 2025, with the most vulnerable age groups being between 10 and 17 years old. None of the fatalities happened under the watch of the rural bus system.”