"NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND POLICY" MUST BECOME LAW IN QUEENSLAND

The "no child left behind" policy must become no nonsense law.

It's ridiculous and disturbing that bus drivers continue to blatantly disregard the policy on occasions because they take it upon themselves to decide if a child is offering a reasonable enough excuse for not having the money for a bus fare or is looking distressed, fearful or vulnerable.

That's not a bus driver's job to decide. The policy is black and white. Following the Daniel Morcombe tragedy in 2003, bus drivers are now duty bound to stop to pick up any child who hails them down, and not neccesarily just at designated bus stops.

Leaving children behind at bus stops or on the side of road anywhere at any time of the day, but especially in the evening, is a recipe for them to become a victim of foul play.

There are a lot of predators out there who have a warped mind like Brett Peter Cowan who are very capable of kidnapping a child, and a whole lot worse.

Yes, upholding the policy is going to cause some degree of inconvenience for bus drivers who may well already be stressed and behind schedule.

Inevitably on the very odd occasions when the "no child left behind" policy comes into play some minor disruption at least to the bus timetable will result, and make everyone on the bus in question run a minute or two late.

But do you think anybody with a heart and who has any regard for child safety should care about that if it were to happen? No they wouldn't.

The policy must become law and bus drivers who have been ignoring the policy to date need to wake up.