Chinese province school buses to have GPS

All school buses in China's Gansu province will have satellite-based tracking system installed in them by the end of this year, authorities said.

The move comes following an accident last year that left 19 preschoolers dead.

Education, traffic and police authorities in Gansu have jointly initiated school bus safety management, said Zhou Zhongping, an official.

According to the plan, all school buses are required to have satellite-based navigation systems installed by the end of this year, said Xinhua.

Long distance buses, chartered buses and vehicles carrying dangerous chemicals should also be equipped with satellite positioning devices.

Twenty-one people, including 19 preschoolers, died and 43 others were injured Nov 16, 2011, when a nine-seat school bus, illegally carrying 64 people, collided head-on with a coal truck in Yulinzi township.

Source: Indo-Asia News Service