Northern Ireland is under renewed pressure to address a gap in school transport law after the death of 11-year-old Caitlin-Rose McMullan prompted fresh calls for legal reform. From a legal perspective, the case has focused attention on the absence of any UK-wide requirement for drivers to stop when a school bus is picking up or dropping off children.
Caitlin-Rose died in March 2025 after being hit by a car while getting off a school bus near her home in Castledawson, County Londonderry. Her mother, Stella McGinn, said too many families had already suffered because of what she described as shortcomings in school bus safety. She said her daughter was “blindsided” after walking out between two buses and could not see oncoming traffic. A year after the collision, McGinn said no concrete legal change had yet been secured and questioned how many more children would be killed or injured before action was taken.
The legal issue is sharpened by the current regulatory position. While the Highway Code contains eight rules on overtaking, none specifically refer to school buses. In Northern Ireland, infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins has previously announced her intention to introduce legislation prohibiting overtaking school buses at bus stops. She said further announcements on school bus safety would be made in the coming weeks, while also stressing the need to get the legislation right.
The debate is also being informed by evidence from health and transport bodies. Translink said that across all its services between 2020 and 2025, 13 people were injured and one person was killed after being struck by a vehicle shortly after getting off one of its buses. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said that since 2020, almost 700 young people aged between four and 18 had been killed or seriously injured on Northern Ireland’s roads during school term time. The Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Belfast found that over the past 15 years there had been, on average, one intensive care admission a year involving a child struck by a vehicle when exiting a school bus.
The Department for Infrastructure said it is examining international models as it develops possible legislation, including systems in parts of the US and Canada where overtaking a stopped school bus is a motoring offence. What remains unresolved is whether Northern Ireland will now convert years of discussion into a legal framework with clear duties, enforceable restrictions and practical safeguards.
