There are few more emotive subjects than the safety of children, and for parents school transport gives cause for concern. On too many occasions, fatal accidents have proved safety standards for school buses in rural China are too lax.

In the latest tragedy, 18 kindergarten kids and two adults were killed on Wednesday, when a minibus smashed head-on into a truck loaded with coal in Gansu province, Northwest China.

The bus, with just nine seats, was crammed with 64 people, which obviously contributed to the number of fatalities and the seriousness of the injuries suffered by some of the children.