Cracking the whip on school bus drivers, the Road Transport Authority (RTA) officials seized 20 buses from various parts of the city for violation of norms during an inspection carried out throughout the day on Friday.
The inspections conducted in the backdrop of Thursday’s horrific accident at Masaipet in Medak district found that several drivers were still using mobile phones while driving. Among other violations include overloading of buses, absence of attendants to help the children board the bus, and rash and negligent driving.
Joint Transport Commissioner T. Raghunath said more than 150 buses were inspected the fitness of which were found to be up to the mark. But there were other violations that were posing danger to the kids. The surprise checks would continue, he said and asked the school managements to ensure that all the norms were followed.
Mr. Raghunath said a training programme would be conducted on Saturday and Sunday for the drivers of all school buses in the city and the focus would be on the safety measures to be taken while driving and also while picking up and dropping the children at their places. The training would be conducted in every zone. He said around 1,200 school buses ply on city roads and officials would now keep a close watch on them. He said the school managements have the responsibility of engaging trained drivers who follow traffic norms properly.
148 cases registered
Meanwhile, special teams of the Transport Department across the 10 districts of Telangana have launched a drive to check safety aboard buses run by educational institutions and on Day One (Friday), the teams registered 148 cases against them for various violations.
Among the violations were over-loading, irregular or inadequate driving licences of drivers and permits, absence of attendants and in some cases, no valid fitness (FC) certificate and failure to comply with Rule 185. The rule stipulated prominent display of particulars about the vehicle including details of seating capacity, the last service done, when the next service was due, the current FC particulars and when it was due to be taken afresh. According to Joint Transport Commissioner J. Pandurang Naik, the highest number of cases registered was in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts. In Khammam district, cases of violation were registered against 34 school buses, including seizure of 12 of them.
