Drivers should not speak on their mobile phones while driving the vehicles, said Collector Johny Tom Varghese here on Saturday.
The Collector, who was inspecting the school buses and vans for the annual fitness screening, told a large gathering of drivers about their responsibilities.
More than anyone, the drivers had the highest responsibility as they used the public road space transporting hundreds of commuters daily from one end to another. The school children, who were travelling on buses, should be given more attention by the bus crew, he underlined.
The Collector also said that the drivers and conductors should have utmost patience not only while driving, but also while dropping off the children and when they board the vehicles. “Even a small carelessness or negligence may lead to unfortunate incidents. We need to prevent and the district can achieve only with the support of all the stakeholders,” the Collector said.
Earlier, a pledge was taken. A mega eye screening camp was also held at the Mohamed Sathak Dastagir Matric Higher Secondary School at Sethupathi Nagar in Ramanathapuram.
According to the officials, the Transport, Revenue, School Education and Traffic Police jointly conducted the camp. The vehicle checks were conducted as per the TN Special Act of 2012. A total of 1,533 schools including 1,065 government and 468 private schools were functioning in Ramanathapuram district. A total of 727 private vehicles checked by the RTO and MV Inspectors.
