The Sino-Vietnamese War (Vietnamese: Chiến tranh biên giới Việt-Trung; simplified Chinese: 中越战争; traditional Chinese:中越戰爭; pinyin: Zhōng-Yuè Zhànzhēng), also known as the Third Indochina War, was a brief border war fought between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in early 1979. China launched the offensive in response to Vietnam's invasion and occupation of Cambodia in 1978 (which ended the rule of the Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge).[17]Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote that Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping saw this as a Soviet attempt "to extend its evil tentacles to Southeast Asia and...carry out expansion there", which reflected the long-standing Sino-Soviet split.[18] Kissinger also noted that "[w]hatever the shortcomings of its execution, the Chinese campaign reflected a serious, long-term strategic analysis".[19]
The Chinese entered northern Vietnam and captured some of the cities near the border. On March 6, 1979, China declared that the gate to Hanoi was open and that their punitive mission had been achieved. Chinese forces retreated back across the Vietnamese border into China. Both China and Vietnam claimed victory in the last of the Indochina Wars of the 20th century; as Vietnamese troops remained in Cambodia until 1989, it can be said that China failed to achieve the goal of dissuading Vietnam from involvement in Cambodia. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Sino-Vietnamese border was finalized.
China demonstrated to its Cold War Communist adversary, the Soviet Union, that they were unable to protect their new Vietnamese ally.[20] Following worsening relations between the Soviet Union and China as a result of the Sino-Soviet split, as many as 1.5 million Chinese troops were stationed along the Soviet-Chinese border, in preparation for a full-scale war.
Bus accidents amount to 16 percent of the total number of public school claims, costing more than $7 million in losses. Although school bus accidents may result from the negligence of other drivers, too often they involve driver inattentiveness.
Numerous studies have examined driver distraction and the frequency with which distraction causes accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated in a 2012 study that 3,328 people were killed and approximately 421,000 injured due to crashes caused by distractions. Distractions came from both inside and outside the vehicle.
The most hazardous activity for automobile drivers is reaching for objects that have been dropped or are moving around the vehicle, such as purses, backpacks, and cell phones. Drivers reaching for objects within the vehicle were nine times more likely to crash than those whose attention was focused solely on their driving!
Drivers also have to deal with other distractions such as bad weather, students misbehaving on board the bus, and a myriad of other issues. Studies also identified a few other activities that can cause drivers to be distracted, including: Using a cell phone, adjusting a radio or MP3 player, adjusting vehicle/climate controls, Eating or drinking and Smoking.
Distractions also come from situations outside the bus. A joint University of North Carolina and AAA study of more than 32,000 crashes determined that external diversions, such as roadwork, construction projects, or another accident, were a considerable distraction, leading to just over 29 percent of crashes.
Public school administrators should consider the following strategies to enhance school bus driver performance:
1) Develop driver training programs and policies that address distraction.
2)Adopt a school bus safety code or code of conduct.
3) Provide students and parents with information about school bus safety and conduct policies.
4) Provide school bus drivers with additional training and resources for managing student behavior.
5) Consider employing crash avoidance technology.
While no single solution will eliminate driver distraction, school systems that pursue a combination of these strategies will help schools turn bus driver's attention back to the road.
