Bereaved mother says 'no time to waste' on school bus safety

A mother whose 11-year-old daughter died when exiting her school bus says "there is no time to waste" when it comes to potential law changes around bus safety.

Caitlin-Rose McMullan died after being hit by a car in March 2025.

A year after the incident, Stella McGinn said "too many families had already endured unbearable pain" because of what she says are shortcomings in school bus safety.

One year on from my daughter's death, we've got nothing set in stone around law changes. How many children are going to get killed or hurt going to and from school before changes are made?" she said.

The collision involving Caitlin-Rose happened in Castledawson, County Londonderry.

Currently in Northern Ireland there is no legal requirement for other vehicles to stop when a school bus is picking up or dropping off pupils.

The infrastructure minister has previously announced her intention to bring forward legislation which will prohibit overtaking school buses at bus stops in Northern Ireland.

Speaking to BBC News NI Liz Kimmins said she would be making further announcements around school bus safety "in the coming weeks".

"As a parent myself it's something I'm always thinking about in everything I do and I know people will ask why it is taking so long, but we have a responsibility to get this issue of school buses right and we've a dedicated team of people looking at this issue of legislation," Kimmins said.

Stella McGinn says she still remembers hearing the news about her daughter's death as if it were yesterday.

"She was bubbly, fun loving and had her whole life ahead of her, dreams and plans and was just finding herself as a person," she said.

"Just as she was starting to bloom her life was just snatched away, I still expect her to come in home from school, life will never be the same."

Ms McGinn said Caitlin-Rose was "blindsided" when she walked out between two buses and "couldn't see traffic coming".

"It has been a living nightmare, you never think it's going to happen to your family," she said.

"The accident happened right at the end of our lane, I walk past it every day and we've tributes to Caitlin there, and I go up and talk to her every day."

Calls for new laws to improve school bus safety in Northern Ireland date back more than 20 years but they have intensified since Caitlin-Rose's death.

The Department for Infrastructure says it is looking at international examples in developing potential legislation for Northern Ireland

In some parts of the United States and Canada, it is a motoring offence to overtake a school bus when it has stopped.

Safety measures in these jurisdictions include retractable stop signs on the left-hand side of buses which flashes amber or red when children are exiting.

"I just don't want any other family to go through what we have had to endure, but sadly I know that will happen again," Stella said.

"That's why we need the law changed to make things safer for children getting on and off school buses, and I can't understand why it is taking so long to get progress going."

Dr Damien Gates is a consultant in the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and was on duty when Caitlin-Rose was taken into hospital after the collision.

"When I got the call and heard that a child had been struck by a vehicle while getting off a school bus, I just thought – 'not again', because my colleagues and I have seen this all too often," he said.

"It's an immense sense of sadness that we couldn't do anything to help Caitlin as her injuries were so profound, but that unfortunately is the reality of the job."

School buses in Northern Ireland are operated by the Education Authority (EA). Additionally Translink operates dedicated school services and private operators may also be contracted to provide services

Translink says that across all its services between 2020 and 2025 it has a record of 13 people being injured and one person being killed because they were struck by a vehicle shortly after getting off one of its buses.

The EA said it did not hold any data on this issue.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland was able to confirm that since 2020 almost 700 young people aged between 4 and 18 years old have been killed on Northern Ireland's roads during school term time.

Meanwhile the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Belfast found that during the past 15 years there was on average one case a year of a child being admitted to intensive care after being struck by a vehicle when exiting a school bus.

Gates said the figures did not show the "full picture" as cases involving limb fractures are usually dealt with on a general ward, while children who die at the scene of a crash are also not included.

He added that within the last six months, two further children were admitted to hospital with severe injuries after getting off a bus or being struck by a vehicle.

The EA said its thoughts were with the family of Caitlin-Rose, and that while it did not have legislative powers it had implemented some road safety measures around school buses.

"Our buses are fitted with a number of safety features, including lighting and signage which will flash when children or young people are getting on or off the vehicle," a spokesperson said.

"We have increased our social media activity, actively promoting and sharing key school transport safety messages.

"We also recently produced a safe travel video for primary aged children, which was shared with schools."