Vaz highlights surveillance system after 'robot' taxi crashes into school bus in Portland

Transport Minister Daryl Vaz has released closed-circuit television footage of Monday's collision between an alleged illegal taxi and a government-operated rural school bus in Portland, saying 15 lives were put at risk. 

Posting on his official Instagram account on Tuesday, Vaz said the footage, captured by cameras installed inside the bus, showed the moment of impact on both the driver and a student aboard the vehicle.

"The buses are built for the protection of our students," Vaz wrote, adding that driver logs and CCTV footage would be handed over to law enforcement.

The crash occurred Monday morning in the vicinity of Tom's Hope in the Rio Grande Valley, Portland, when an alleged robot taxi reportedly travelling at high speed around a corner slid into the school bus after the driver braked to avoid a collision. 

The taxi's driver and students aboard were taken to Port Antonio Hospital, where they were treated for minor cuts and bruises. 

No injuries were reported among the seven persons on the school bus.

Vaz said the incident vindicated the monitoring and security features built into the Rural School Bus System. "Using technology, we are able to better secure the students and the buses."

"Well thinking Jamaicans are right to be outraged by the continued lawlessness and reckless driving on the roads," he wrote. "Had this been another bus the outcome could have been very very different."

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