Implement orders, but make parents responsible too

Verifying antecedants of drivers & conductors, making officials accountable & disciplining children will make bus travel safe

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Observe Supreme Court’s guidelines

Apart from Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Supreme Court in writ petition (Civil) 13029 of 1985 has already issued comprehensive steps to for the safety of schoolchildren. The vehicle ferrying schoolchildren should have permit issued by competent authority. “On school duty” must be permanently written on the back and front of every vehicle. No such vehicle shall carry schoolchildren in excess of its permitted seating capacity. No child should be allowed to sit on lap of others. There must be a first-aid box and drinking water in the school vehicle. Every vehicle carrying schoolchildren must be driven by a driver, who has minimum five years experience in driving heavy vehicles. Whenever a contract carriage is used for carrying schoolchildren, the owner of the vehicle must give intimation to local the police station about name of the driver and particulars of the vehicle. There must be an attendant in every vehicle to ensure safe travel of schoolchildren and render adequate assistance for safe embarking and disembarking of kids.

SK Khosla, Chandigarh

Cops must act on court dictate

Despite comprehensive traffic laws, guidelines and dos & don’t for the safety of school children, there is no check on speeding, accommodating children like sardines in three-wheelers and ferrying them in unconventional vans. The traffic police and law enforcing agencies must act in letter and spirit on the High Court dictate and ensure deterrent action against violators for the safety of schoolchildren. Besides annual fitness certification of school buses and medical of the bus crew should be mandatory. All school buses besides having GPS should have speed governors limiting max speed up to 40 kmh. Private vans ferrying schoolchildren must be painted with designated colour.

SS Arora, Phoenix (USA)

Give admission to kids in nearest schools

To ensure the safety, District Education Officer should ensure that children are admitted to schools nearest to their homes. Children can cover this distance on foot or on a cycle using cycle tracks. Children must always walk on footpaths. While crossing roads, they should look right and then left, cross roads only through zebra crossing, follow traffic signals and don’t board or get off a moving bus. Bus conductor should help students. Schoolchildren should not lean out or take hands out from a moving bus. It should be mandatory for the school principal get driving licence of the driver verified through the police/ RLA of the area.

Harish Kapur, Chandigarh

Seat belts for all children impractical

We may have ideas for schoolchildren’s safety, but neither provisions nor inclination to ensure. Preferential right of way to school transport excites, but road provision not made. Seat belts for all children is impracticable. Rather, school vehicles should be regulated for speed. Ban on ferrying more than four children in auto-rickshaw appeals, but neither auto-drivers nor the authorities concerned are active to combat the menace. We have good safety prescriptions but mar on practicability. Our determination and desired activation alone holds the key to ensure safety of schoolchildren.

MPS Chadha, Mohali

Caution is eldest child of wisdom

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has taken good step for the safety of schoolchildren. It is true that caution is the eldest child of wisdom. Children are future of the nation. The administration should provide school buses for all students. Seat belts should be available on every seat in all school buses. Women conductors should deployed in all school buses by the authorities concerned. The traffic police as well as the school authorities should put up barriers to catch drivers flouting norms. Drivers of school buses should not be hooked to drugs or alcohol. Conductors should handle kids carefully. They should use proper and soft language in front of children.

Sumesh Kumar Badhwar, Mohali

Why are authorities not serious?

I am happy that the High Court is concerned about the safety and security of schoolchildren in the city. Full Bench in its landmark order made it clear that reasonably good pedestrian paths and roads are fundamental right of every person. Ending the practice of packing students in auto-rickshaws, wearing seat belts in buses and right away to school buses is the need of the hour. Why does the court intervene repeatedly into such big issues? Why cannot the authorities be conscious about their responsibility toward residents? Should personal accountability of erring officials not be fixed incase of proven negligence. Implement all directions of the court in a true letter and spirit for making roads safer for schoolchildren.

Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula

Educate people about right to way

Measures listed by the High Court are welcome. These will go a long way to ensure safety of schoolchildren. Overcrowding in auto-rickshaws and buses has to be stopped. Parents should not send their children in three-wheelers ferrying more than four children. Right to way is good step, but commuters should be educated about it as even ambulances carrying patients have difficulty in finding way through the traffic.

Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Chandigarh

Install surveillance cameras in buses

The High Court order on setting norms for ferrying children on school buses is not enough until implemented in letter and spirit. Surveillance cameras with internet facility should be installed in all school buses. Parents should have access such cameras to watch movement of their kids. Every school bus should be fitted with the GPS device so that parents can find route and time of vehicles ferrying their wards. Drivers of school buses should be imparted training in safety measures on regular intervals by traffic experts. Expenditure for their training should be borne by schools.

Ravinder Nath, Chandigarh

Shun tokenism on safety, security

There is no denying the fact that much has been written and spoken about the safety and security of schoolchildren, but nothing tangible has come out of the narrative. The fresh measures mandated by the Punjab and Haryana High Court have already being discussed, debated umpteen times, but never delivered on the ground, apparently due to lack of seriousness on the part of those at the helms of affairs. The need of the hour is to shun tokenism and take on the malaise with all seriousness, especially when it comes to the safety and security of schoolchildren. Stringent laws and their stricter implementation would go a long way in minimising road mishaps and misadventures happening every day. Those showing thumbs down to the court’s directives on safety and security of schoolchildren need to be taken to task by awarding exemplary punishment, including jail terms and impounding vehicles flouting the traffic norms and directives listed by the court. We may also vouch for the fact that all cosmetic measures to tackle the tricky issue have virtually boomeranged. School managements needs to be brought on board and told in unequivocal terms that safety and security of schoolchildren is their paramount duty and be strictly adhered to in letter and in spirit.

Ramesh K Dhiman, Chandigarh

Laws not enforced strictly in city

At every stage, there is lack of strict enforcement of laws. Measures taken by the administration for the safety of schoolchildren have not yielded the desired results. Who is responsible for the enforcement of the court directives? Are the police or officials of the department concerned accountable for such issues? Penalty should be imposed on drivers of school buses, auto-rickshaws and other vehicles ferrying kids for flouting norms.

Tarlok Singh, Mani Majra

Address issues of poor students

Students of remote villages travel long distances on foot to reach nearest schools as there is no adequate transport facility. Some villages have no bridge over streams or rivers flowing in the vicinity to connect with nearest city. Students from such villages wade through water risking their lives to reach schools. The government must instruct officials to address issues of such poor students. They should be held responsible in case of any laxity. Safe transport facility must be provided to schoolchildren.

MR Bhateja, Nayagaon

Educate stakeholders about safety norms

Vested interests often dilute court diktats. It is imperative that directions given by the court are given wider publicity. All

stakeholders should repeatedly educated and reminded about safety norms. There is need to regulate and discipline children while boarding/reboarding buses that big schools operate. Onus for safety lies more on schools and for lapses on their part on the traffic police and the Transport Department. Packing of children in school buses, vans and three-wheelers like sardines in a can must be checked sternly with zero tolerance. Road-recarpeting/repair mechanism needs drastic innovation besides checks and controls to eliminate potholes. Schoolchildren need to be enlightened on safety.

Lalit Bharadwaj, Panchkula

Parents must check school buses

Commuting to and from schools is the most vulnerable time for kids to get injured. Their safety is compromised due to lapses in transport facility. As parents’ are away and their children are left to their own fate or at the mercy of either school transport or drivers of auto-rickshaws. Schools buses are supposed to be the safest mode of transport, yet many flout safety rules, be it unavailability of fire extinguishers, horizontal bus bars on windows, first-aid box, safety belts on every seat, GPS and most importantly an attendant to cater to needs of kids. It is not only duty of the school transport department to look into safety procedures, but parents too are equally responsible for timely checks inside buses to ensure their child’s safety. Students of government rely on unsafe auto-rickshaws and tempos, a cheapest mode of transport. Parents must be aware and vigilant to prevent mishaps while commuting. Lackadaisical attitude of the school authorities to abide by safety norms should be tackled with iron hand by conducting regular inspection of school vehicles and drivers.

BM Dhawan, Chandigarh

Maintain discipline to keep children safe

Measures suggested by the High Court will a long way in improving safety of schoolchildren if implemented in true spirit. The way young schoolchildren are ferried by auto-rickshaws and private taxis to schools is deplorable. Drivers of such vehicles play with the lives of kids on busy roads as they flout norms with impunity. Underage students often drive two-wheelers without helmets. They triple ride on two-wheelers in school uniforms. Strict discipline has to be maintained by the school authorities, parents’ and the police to keep children safe on roads.

Wg Cdr Jasbir Singh Minhas (retd), Mohali

Insist on women attendants in buses

In the absence of checking by the police, school buses and auto-rickshaws ferry schoolchildren without following any safety norms. Even parents should insist on safety belts and women attendants in all school buses. Auto-rickshaws carry more than 10 school kids hanging around dangerously without any safety precautions, but nobody bothers about it. Traffic police is never seen on roads.

RK Kapoor, Chandigarh

Safety is collective responsibility

Our society, unfortunately, has never taken safety of children seriously. It has to be a collective effort of parents, schools and society. There should be adequate number of school buses/vans to prevent over loading of students. School buses should be fitted with CCTVs. The police have to be proactive in checking vehicles ferrying schoolchildren. We as parents have a vital role in making our children aware about safety issues, including immediately reporting any case of molestation/improper touch. Schools, which hide such incidents, should be taken to task. Let us ensure that our children go to school safely and comfortably and are grow up healthy.

Madhu R D Singh, Ambala Cantt

Parents not bothered about kids’ safety

The commercialisation of education in India is a known fact. A few money-minded people do not even hesitate to put the lives of innocent schoolchildren at risk as they ferry them in overloaded buses. Though many laws have been enacted by courts for the safety of schoolchildren, only few are followed practically. Parents do not bother and send their kids to schools in auto-rickshaws, which ferry 10 to 15 kids thus risking their lives. Schools need to be strict regarding the safety of their students. Just to save few pennies, they must not put lives of their students in peril. The traffic police should be stricter with school buses. School buses should be fitted with speed governors and CCTVs. Drivers and conductors of school buses should wear proper uniform.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi, Chandigarh

Government has to do more

The directions of the High Court are comprehensive and a step in the right direction, but the government has to travel more roads to achieve some substantial ground results. Design of roads has to be improved to make them safer for schoolchildren.

Rajiv Boolchand Jain, Zirakpur

Safety of school kids is paramount

Apart from court directions for the right of way for school buses on busy roads and onboard safety measures school managements must ensure that bus drivers and conductors are employed only after thorough screening. As is well known, majority of road accidents carrying schoolchildren occur due to inept onboard care by the bus crew, including drunken driving.

SC Luthra, Chandigarh

Implement right of way for buses

The safety of schoolchildren is a serious challenge to school administration, the police and parents. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has rightly listed measures to ensure safety of schoolchildren while travelling in buses and restricting maximum kids in auto-rickshaws. Seat belts for children in school buses are appreciable. Implement the right of way for school buses so that drivers avoid overtaking and risking lives of children. There should be a check on underage driving, which is rampant among schoolchildren. Each school bus must have a CCTV monitored by the school authorities. The traffic police must deployed near schools to stop violation of norms by students.

Capt Amar Jeet Kumar (retd), Mohali

Re-carpeting of roads is must

Several measures listed by the Punjab and Haryana High court can be beneficial if implemented and followed by schools and auto-rickshaw drivers properly. Mandatory seatbelts for schoolchildren will let them sit properly at one place in buses and protect them from bumpy rides and jerks. Auto-rickshaws ferrying children more than seating capacity are threat to kids’ lives on roads teaming with potholes. Bus and auto-rickshaw drivers must be imparted special training to drive. Time to time checking of school buses needs to be done and strict action be taken against those violating rules. It’s duty of the government to re-carpet roads in order to make journey of children to schools safe and smooth. Measures listed by the court alone will not work.

Abhilasha Gupta, Mohali

No cops on road when schools open

Strict implementation of different measures for the safety of schoolchildren suggested by different sections, including the ones by the High Court, is essentially required. Many reforms are suggested by the authorities for the safety of schoolchildren, but no is bothered to implement these. Everybody, at the time of any mishap will find so many loose ends in the system. Most Indians have a mindset of evading legal system unless some authority concerned watches them. In Chandigarh, there is no police on roads when schools open. In the nutshell, it is strongly felt that whatever safety measures announced for schoolchildren, unless implemented honestly would not yield desired results.

OP Longia, Chandigarh

Less compliance of law in city

The main issue is that in our country less rules are followed otherwise Indian law is one of the strictest in the world. Accidents will reduce considerably if drivers follow the High Court directions. The Administration should focus on the compliance of already existing rules rather than making new ones.

Avinash Goyal, Chandigarh

Organise special drives on road safety

Most school buses do not follow rules laid by the High Court. There is no safety as one can find schoolchildren hanging precariously out of auto-rickshaws. No violator should be spared by the law. Special drives must be held from time-to-time to ensure safety of schoolchildren. Even parents and public should be more vigilant. They should complain to the police and the school authorities on noticing kids indulging in rash driving or speeding. School buses or auto-rickshaws not following safety rules should be impounded.

Vijay Malia, Chandigarh

Cycle to office to make roads safe

Bigger the vehicle, bigger is responsibility of the authorities to make roads safer for schoolchildren. I have been cycling in Chandigarh for twenty years. I go to hospital, bank, social functions, relatives place, dinners’ and shopping on my cycle. Parents and the school authorities should encourage/reward children, who go to their schools on cycles. Motorists should respect cyclists on city roads.

Rajan Chugh, Chandigarh

Teach Kids importance of wearing seat belts

Various steps have to be taken to put a brake on accidents involving school buses. Installing speed control governors on buses, regular maintenance of vehicles, routine medical check-ups of drivers, installing CCTVs and the GPS and making mandatory for all schools to get road worthy certificates for every bus every year from a competent authority is the need of the hour. Walk your child to and from the bus stop. If possible, wait with him or her until the bus arrives. Be alert to traffic. Check both ways for cars before stepping off the bus. Wait for the bus driver’s signal before crossing road. Walk in front of the bus. While waiting for the bus, stay at a safe distance from the road. Before leaving the sidewalk, look for flashing lights. Never go under bus to retrieve something dropped. Teach your child the importance of staying seated on the bus. Get to know your bus driver.

Sanjay Chopra, Mohali

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