Toughen school van safety norms, demand bus owners

Toughen school van safety norms, demand bus owners

The accident of a school van in Amravati, which killed three students and injured nine, has drawn attention to the delay in implementing the school bus policy. School bus owners say banning such vans or introducing tougher safety norms for them is the need of the hour. Though new safety norms have been introduced for school vans, bus owners say they need to be toughened. So far, the norms for such vans require that they be painted yellow, not carry more than six students below 12 years of age and have a female attendant in the van. But these norms are being blatantly violated. President of the School Bus Owners’ Association Anil Garg said transport authorities should make it mandatory for drivers of such vans to have badges, which will be issued only after five years of experience. “It is still not compulsory for school van drivers to wear a badge like other drivers. They often pack the vehicle with too many students. The RTO should check such things strictly,” Garg said. President of the Forum for Fairness Jayant Jain said that RR Patil had said he would do away with such vans when one caught fire in Millat Nagar a few years ago. “How many accidents will it take before the government wakes up,” he said, adding that parents are forced to go for vans as school buses charge a hefty fee.