School buses should have seat belts, says Police Commissioner

With hardly three weeks to go for the re-opening of schools and colleges after the long summer vacation, the managements of educational institutions have to ensure that their buses are fit to transport students.

In other words, the buses have to obtain the mandatory ‘Fitness Certificate' (FC).

There are 1,360 buses in the city and 1,700 in the district run by educational institutions. Schools and colleges that have their own buses generally ensure that their buses are in good running condition. There are, however, some institutes that fail to conduct periodical inspections to know the roadworthiness of their vehicles as also the condition of the drivers.

The FC of educational institute buses that are over 15 years old will not be renewed and the managements have been advised to dispose them of from the point of view of the safety of students.

“Irrespective of when the FC is taken, its validity for educational institute buses would end on May 15 every year. The institute managements have to take the FC afresh from May 16 onwards and it has to be normally completed before the reopening of the school,” according to Deputy Transport Commissioner M. Prabhu Raj Kumar.

Complaint book

On May 16, of the 67 buses which were brought for FC renewal, 38 were found roadworthy and it was renewed. The renewal of FC for the remaining vehicles was rejected. On the next day (May 17), 113 vehicles were produced and the FC of 77 renewed and 36 were rejected. Mr. Raj Kumar said that the Certificate of Fitness Rejection Report (CFFR) would be issued for the rejected vehicles. The reasons for rejection would be given and the applicant/driver would be given a copy of the same.

A complaint book should be kept in the vehicle and the students should be encouraged to record their complaints. The vehicle should not be overloaded beyond 25 per cent of the seating capacity. The Transport Department is conducting training programme for the drivers in road safety awareness and traffic rules. The school managements can contact the department for details.

“School buses should not be over 15 years old. A decision has been taken to make seat belts mandatory in school buses. There should be an attendant to take care of the children in addition to the driver. Action will be initiated against school managements not complying with the rules,” Police Commissioner B. Shivadhar Reddy said.