Crackdown on unsafe school transport: 40 vehicles challaned in Muktsar

Cracking down on unsafe school transportation, the district police and civil administration launched a surprise inspection drive on Wednesday, issuing challans to 40 school vehicles found flouting safety norms.

The drive was led by Muktsar DSP (Headquarters) Amandeep Singh, who said the inspection focused on vehicle registration, fitness certificates, insurance, and the validity of drivers’ licenses.

“We also checked the essential safety equipment such as medical kits, drinking water, emergency lights and proper indicators. Besides, we instructed the mandatory presence of trained helpers on board the vehicles,” he said.

Meanwhile, Muktsar SSP Akhil Chaudhary said that school principals were directed to ensure no overloading, deploy uniformed and sober drivers, maintain all required documentation and safety tools. “We have instructed schools to conduct proper driver verification and regular maintenance of buses,” he said, adding that parents, too, should remain vigilant about the condition of school vehicles and verify the credentials of drivers.

Notably, the Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has already issued a 10-point direction to the Transport Department to follow while permitting school buses to ferry students. These instructions include that the driver must have a valid driving license for the category of vehicle he or she is driving, an attendant above 18 years of age must be present, the attendant must be a matriculate and trained in first-aid, and the vehicle must be equipped with fire extinguishers.

The attendant is required to assist students while crossing roads, and in buses ferrying girls, the attendant must be a woman. The telephone numbers of the district transport office and the transport company must also be displayed on the bus. On this, some locals said that drivers of school buses and vans often flout traffic rules and drive rashly.

“The inspection drive of school transport vehicles lasts for just a day or two, but the violations continue unchecked throughout the year. If the police can find a large number of traffic rule violators in just one day, why don’t they launch regular drives?” remarked Deepak Kumar, a local resident.

Bathinda