Bangalore: Following Supreme Court directions, the state transport department had issued several guidelines for school vans to ensure safety of children. The department is conducting surprise inspections of all school vans now to make sure that they do not violate the rules.
A reality check done by this paper has revealed most school vans do not have the mandatory speed governors, fire extinguishers, first aid box, and emergency exits and do not adhere to the seat capacity. Most don’t even have emergency contact details.
To beat the seat capacity rule, many school vans have changed the seating. Original seats have been replaced by metal seats arranged horizontally and parallel to each other. This type of seating is unsafe but it allows the van to carry more students.
"No pole-support is available inside the van. If the driver brakes suddenly, the kids have nothing to hold on to," said one parent.
A traffic policeman monitoring traffic outside a school admitted that most school vans flout the rules. "None of the school vans have even emergency contact details,” said the policeman.
A transport officer told this newspaper that vans owned and operated by school management have good facilities “and we can fix the responsibility easily. But majority of the school vans in the city are operated by private persons who ferry children to more than one school. How can parents send their children in such vans which don't have good sitting facility at all?" he asked.
There is little point in the government issuing guidelines and then not ensuring that they are enforced.
Traffic police and transport officials should be authorised to penalise erring bus operators and harsh penalties should be imposed for non-compliance.
