With no effective checking mechanism in place, rampant speed limit violations by private buses and high-end motorbikes near school zones are posing a threat to the safety of students in Kozhikode.
Though parent-and-teacher associations have raised many complaints, no action has been taken against erring drivers.
There are also underage riders who venture out on roads during peak hours. Special drives launched to nab such illegal riders are yet to focus on the surroundings of educational institutions that were previously in the radar of the police following freak accidents.
“Lane discipline is hardly followed near school zones by many of the inter-district private buses that are also terrorising other motorists with high-decibel horns and the yelling of bus cleaners,” says Baby Varghese, a civil engineer from Atholi, who has come across several such incidents on the Kozhikode-Kannur highway. He points out that the police and home guards near zebra crossings are even struggling to help students cross the road amidst the speed game.
The suggestion of some of the road safety organisations to divert long-distance buses and trucks via Kozhikode bypass and beach road to decongest the road during school time is yet to be taken up seriously by the police. Road Accident Action Forum members say many school zones located along the Kozhikode-Kannur highway will be more safe if the proposal becomes a reality. Now, it is done only during mass political rallies and conventions, they say.
Though the speed limit fixed for vehicles near the school zones is only 30 km per hour, it is hardly followed by drivers even during peak hours. As no speed detection cameras are now available to keep an eye on such designated zones, erring drivers jump the limit easily. Students who come to the school by bicycles are facing huge safety risks because of the reckless race of heavy and light motor vehicles.
Meanwhile, police officials with the city traffic claim that they have an active checking squad to intercept any such reckless drivers on the road with the support of highway police and local police stations. Students, teachers or parents can dial the control room number (112) to exchange information about such vehicles with the police for spot action, they add.
