JOIN USPacked with children, the school van sped past the signal in great haste. Stumped, the traffic cop alerted his colleague two junctions away.
Eventually stopped by a barricade, the driver alighted in a drunken stupor. His blood alcohol had exceeded the limit by 10 times!
The driver had endangered the lives of all those children inside. The police were lucky to stop him just in time. But, a big question looms large: How do they check thousands of school vans and buses roaming the city streets, picking children from the remotest corners every day?
Unregulated, reckless and dangerous, a big proportion of the vehicles are outside anyone’s control. Beyond a point, the school managements – who mostly outsource the transport service --, say they cannot dictate terms. Is there a way out for the law-enforcers?
The chance discovery of a drunken van driver did trigger a drive against school vehicles. Over 10 drivers have been caught drunk behind the wheels in the last one month alone. Several vans and buses have been seized. But what could make a difference is the police directive to school managements.
Circular to schools
Early this month, city police commissioner N S Megharikh issued a circular to all schools to procure alcometers. The schools will have to mandatorily check alcohol levels of the drivers, before picking up children from their homes and also before dropping them off after classes.
Fixing accountability, the circular is also clear about private vans and other vehicles unattached to the schools. The managements should ascertain details of these vehicles and conduct regular checks.
They could take police help in doing so. A senior traffic official says the police have offered to train school staff in conducting the checks properly. The matter has gained a sense of urgency since many drivers have been found to consume liquor at night, making it risky to drive early in the morning.
But, the official admits that a total clean-up will be impossible to achieve unless parents too are taken on board. “Most parents are aware of the risks involved. In many cases, they cannot afford the high cost of vans attached to schools. They then opt for unregulated private operators,” he says, preferring anonymity.
Guidelines violated
The circular is a reiteration of the Supreme Court’s school safety guidelines issued many months ago. But many of these have been violated with impunity. Autorickshaws are notorious for ferrying school children far beyond the permitted limit of six. Maxi-cabs too are guilty of this dangerous overloading.
Only well-to-do schools have adhered to the rule that a staffer should accompany children in the vehicles. Unattached private operators say the rule does not even apply to them.
Inevitably, when young children sense that their vehicle is being recklessly driven, they are on their own. There is no way even the senior schoolchildren could raise an alarm. The police admit that an alarm system has not been made mandatory.
Missing alarms
Shouldn’t this be a natural follow-up to the ‘Safe Route to School’ programme that the traffic police have been conducting for many years? Lined up during December-January every year, road safety weeks are arranged to educate students, teachers and parents on matters of safe commute. If the right equipment is available, students travelling in vans could themselves raise alarms and prevent accidents.
In 2012, the state government had come out with the Karnataka Motor Vehicles (conditions for vehicles engaged in transport of schoolchildren) guidelines.
Drafted on the directions of the Supreme Court, the guidelines mandated speed governors for all school buses and vans; highway yellow colour paint for such vehicles and LMV transport vehicle licence for drivers valid for at least four years.
A few schools have discontinued transport contracts after drivers were caught driving drunk. But the police want the school managements to do more.
One suggestion is to set up a foolproof system to check the antecedents of every driver and hold regular parent-teacher meetings related to student safety.
Child Rights Commission
Following up on the arrests, the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) has categorically fixed the responsibility of a child’s safety during home-school-home commute on school managements.
Besides the driver and vehicle owner, the Commission wants the head of the institution and school management to be penalised in the event of any future violations.