Everyone must ensure school kids commute safely

In a proactive step, the Regional Transport Office (RTO) has started collecting information about all vehicles ferrying students to and from school. The move aims to identify those plying without a permit or lack safety measures. Those flouting the rules will face strict action, said an RTO official.

While the RTO is writing to different schools seeking details about the vehicles, it is important too that schools themselves are careful about the vehicles that function as school buses; whether they have the necessary papers, and requisite permissions and whether all safety measures are on board.

We have witnessed vans careening around corners, carrying more than their capacity of children. So it is with auto-rickshaws where children are made to sit next to the driver, and a sizeable number of children are made to sit at the back. Given the state of our roads, the fact that this is the monsoon season, safety takes on an even more important aspect.

Several parents are also to be blamed for sending their children to school, with the commutes definitely posing a risk. While these may not be official school vehicles, kids are sometimes sitting three to a seat behind a mo-bike driver, or stuffed into cars and there are simply too many so they cannot wear seatbelts. Parents need to be extra careful when enlisting their children in these 'school pooling' commutes. Check the safety aspect and only then, allow your child to go to school using a particular mode of transport.

While it is good for the RTO to hold such checks periodically, internal assessment is also necessary. In the end, all stakeholders, the traffic authorities, schools, parents and the vehicle owners and operators should be on the same page - children need to commute between school and home as safely as possible. That is the bottom-line.

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