Hyderabad: Accidents on the rise as school buses flout rules

Hyderabad: Parents send their wards to school by school buses assuming that they were safer means of transport than other means, but the frequent accidents witnessed in the city tell a different story. 

According to the rules, every school bus should have a cleaner/attendant who has to take each student home, drop him/her off, but this is often flouted and our system lacks a foolproof method, says a road safety expert.

Earlier this year, a six-year-old girl was killed after she fell down from a school bus and got crushed under its rear wheel in Saheb Nagar. P Anjali, a Class 1 student of Prashanti Vidya Niketan, was sitting near the exit door of the bus when she allegedly tumbled down.

The vehicle was on its way to school when the bus driver reportedly braked near a speed breaker resulting in Anjali losing her balance and falling.

According to the rules, vehicles carrying school children must be well-maintained and regularly checked.

“The bus should have basic first aid kit, low footboard, fire extinguisher and should be well-maintained. As far as rules for driver goes, he should be less than 60 years of age, should have five years of experience in driving the said vehicle, be it bus or an auto rickshaw, and he should be getting total body checked, including eye and hearing every three months, and proper record should be maintained for the same. An attendant is a must in a school bus to ensure that the student is getting down and boarding safely and help him/her cross the road,” said M. Vinod Kanumula, chief functionary of Indian Road Federation.

Upon violating any of the rules, the school bus driver’s FC (fitness certificate) will be cancelled and his licence will be suspended for minimum three months, said a senior traffic police officer.