The manufacturer of the battery-powered Stint transport devices has announced that it will inspect all 3,500 Stints across the Netherlands.
Translation by Traci White
Following a fatal collision between a Stint and a train in the town of Oss last week that left four children dead and two seriously injured, many day care centres across the Netherlands, including several in Groningen and Friesland, announced that they would at least temporarily stop using the transporters until an investigation into a fatal accident in Oss was completed.
Starting this week, the Bilthoven-based manufacturer of the Stint will carry out inspections of all potential safety issues and pre-emptively replace any vulnerable components. Child care facilities which use a Stint to transport children have already been provided with a safety checklist to evaluate their own Stints.
Electromagnetic radiation
The Dutch Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate is also looking into whether the electromagnetic radiation from railroad crossing could interfere with the child transport devices.
Teletekst writes that another Stint reportedly stopped working when it was on a rail crossing in Baarn. Infrastructure minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen announced on Friday that the inspectorate would look into how the railroad tracks could potentially influence the electronics of the transport devices.
Friesland Lease, a company in the Frisian city of Drachten, leases around 1,000 of the devices and contacted clients last week after dozens of safety inquiries.
Photo source: Harry NL/Flickr