PARENTS have called for a review into safety standards after students were forced to push their school bus through a busy intersection in Flora Hill after it broke down yesterday.
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About 40 students from Victory Christian College were on their way to school when their school bus stalled in the middle of a roundabout in Ellis Street.
The bus driver asked students to hop out and push the bus through the intersection to the side of the road.
A mother, whose students were on the bus, said her daughter was upset and frightened by the experience.
Deborah, who asked for her surname not to be used, said she was outraged that childrens’ lives were put in danger.
“It’s beyond unsafe,” she said. “I am absolutely appalled.
“There were children as young as prep that were on the bus and the driver had no qualms about asking them to get out and push.
“Had the bus rolled back even a little bit who knows what could have happened? It should be investigated as a child endangerment issue.”
Bus driver Phil Godkins said the childrens’ safety was at the forefront of his mind.
Mr Godkins said his bus broke down at the roundabout and he had to move it to clear traffic.
“The intersection was at a standstill,” he said.
“The traffic was building up. I asked the children to help move the vehicle and clear the intersection.”
Mr Godkins said there was no risk at any time that the children could have been injured and he said the students were “enthusiastic and more than happy to help”.
“I would never have put the kids in a situation where they could get hurt.
“There was no traffic moving at the time. We were in a stationary position.”
A number of parents said they had made complaints to Godkins Bus Service and had contacted the school to express their concern.
Victory Christian College said last night they were looking into the matter.
