‘We don’t have a culture of road safety’

You cannot provide safe school transport in isolation: Rohit Baluja

Delhi has the highest number of accidents, injuries and child-related road fatalities than any other city in India. Despite clear guidelines for school transport, the situation is only getting worse. Rohit Baluja, president of the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), spoke about the problem of unsafe school transport in the city and what can be done to solve it.

How would you rate safety in school transport in Delhi?

I would say that not a lot of attention is being paid to the safety of children outside of schools. Hundreds of children die in accidents due to the callousness of bus and van drivers. The problem is that the drivers are not trained properly. It is one thing to know how to drive and another to ferry schoolchildren. Special training and tests should be conducted for these drivers.

What can schools and parents do to make travelling to school safer for children?

Schools should mandatorily have their own transport. Many parents resort to private transport either because schools do not have the capacity to accommodate all students or these modes are more expensive. They should also make sure that school buses or shuttle services have safety features like CCTV cameras or at least a reliable staff member to look after the safety of children. Their responsibility does not end after students leave the gates. Safe transport is as important as a safe classroom.

If parents are aware that their child is being made to sit in the boot of a van or on another student’s lap, they should not wait for an accident or an untoward incident to happen.

How can roads be made safer for children?

The foremost thing is to understand that you cannot provide safe school transport in isolation. The problem is that we do not have a culture of road safety in the country. Unless we solve the larger problem, safe transport for children will only be a half-baked initiative.

However, the government can implement stricter laws for school transport. If the Transport Department has registrations for drivers who ply in schools, it can ensure that safety benchmarks are attained. In case of a mishap, it will be easier to pin the blame on the driver concerned. Schools can also help by sending a list of vehicles that operate in their school. Safety of children should be a priority.