来年４月、安全装置義務化　通園バスで政府緊急対策

　政府は１２日、幼稚園や保育所、認定こども園などの送迎バスに置き去りを防止するため安全装置の設置を義務付けることを柱とする緊急対策をまとめた。義務付けは来年４月からで、１年間の経過措置を設ける。義務違反の場合には業務停止などの処分とする。
　静岡県牧之原市の認定こども園で９月、バスに取り残された３歳の女児が死亡した事件を受けた措置。昨年７月には福岡県中間市でも同様の事件が起きており、対策が急務となっていた。
　政府は関係府省会議を内閣府で開催。国土交通省が年内に、安全装置の具体的な仕様を定めたガイドラインを策定する。(1)バスのエンジン停止後、一定時間で警告音が鳴り、車内後部のボタンを押して音を止める過程で目視確認を促す(2)取り残された子どもをセンサーで感知する―などの方式を想定している。（2022/10/12-18:56）

The Japanese government Wednesday adopted a set of emergency measures centered on mandating the installation of safety devices on nursery and kindergarten buses to prevent children from being left behind inside.
   The mandatory safety device rule will enter into force in April next year with a grace period of one year. Operators of such facilities violating the rule would be ordered to suspend operations or face other punishments.
   Last month, a 3-year-old girl died of heatstroke after being left behind on a bus of a "kodomoen" kindergarten-nursery hybrid in Makinohara, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan. This followed a similar fatal incident in Nakama, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in July last year.
   The transport ministry will draw up guidelines by year-end on specifications of the required safety devices. Options being considered include a button at the rear end of the bus that sounds an alarm if not pressed after the engine stops, prompting staff to check inside the vehicle, as well as a sensor to detect any child left inside.
   Those subject to the obligation include kindergartens, nursery schools, kodomoen facilities, schools for special needs education and day care centers for children with disabilities. The number of such facilities is estimated at some 24,000, with their buses seen totaling 44,000.