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In North America, the yellow school buses have such beacons on the front and the back of the vehicles and it is not a status symbol, but a safety measure. When children are getting into or stepping out of the school bus, these red lights flash and the law mandates that the oncoming traffic stop till the bus moves and the flashing stops. Similarly, vehicles coming behind the school bus have to stop at a distance if the red lights begin to flash and the school bus stops. They cannot overtake it and can move only after the bus moves. In Ontario, Canada,
for example, penalties for not stopping for a school bus flash light
range from $400 to $4000 and even imprisonment in case of subsequent
offences. One can see similar safety measures in several
other countries too. In fact, now newer varieties of flash lights are
being tried to improve their visibility in foggy weather conditions.
I quote this to highlight the need for our leaders to think more about safety and less about their status symbols and privileges, because only then will we be able to prevent accidents such as the one witnessed in Ambala district last fortnight, where a van carrying school children hit a truck headlong, killing 13 children and injuring another 17 –all in the age group opf 5-8 years. From all reports, it was clear that the school had violated the mandatory Supreme Court guidelines on school bus safety. It was heavily overcrowded, was over speeding (had no speed governors) and it had no fog lights, a sure recipie for disaster in the foggy winter months. As is the wont, district administrations in Haryana and many other states suddenly woke up to the fact that there is flagrant violation of the Apex Court guidelines and started holding meetings with school authorities. In Haryana, the government also announced changes in the school timings till the end of January-surely this should be a routine safety procedure every winter in fog-bound areas of the country? Should 13 children die for the government to realize this? If you look at some of the laws and regulations governing school buses in countries in North America and Europe, you will realise that the mandatory guidelines laid down by the Supreme court are the barest minimum and we in fact need to improve upon them and have better safety measures for school buses. Yet, even this barest minimum is not being enforced by the transport departments and the police-not just in Haryana, but in every part of the country. You see children packed like sardines in tiny cycle- rickshaws, autorickshaws and cabs and taken at break-neck speed by drivers who care two hoots for the traffic laws or for the safety of the children. The time has come for parents to ask themselves whether they can allow this state of affairs to continue, putting the lives of their children at risk? In North America, school buses are designed and constructed in such a way as to ensure better safety- they have reinforced sides, shatter-proof glass, high-back padded seats, flashing lights, emergency exits, roof hatch for rescue, an electronic undercarriage sensor and alarm to overcome the driver’s blind spot (to prevent the bus from running over a child ) and school bus safety is constantly reviewed. So much so that school buses that carry children are considered 13 times more safer than the cars in which their parents travel. But look at the situation here! In 1997, when an overcrowded, speeding bus plunged into the Yamuna river in Delhi, killing 30 children and injuring 62, the Supreme court took suo motu notice of the unsafe conditions in which school children travelled and issued guidelines for their safety (later revised). Fifteen years hence, children continue to pay the price for the government’s indifference to safety. Parents (and other citizens too ) should now come together, shed their apathy and take proactive steps to draw up stringent standards for pupil transportation and ensure their strict compliance. In S.Somasundaram vs the Correspondent, Sri Chakravarthy International Matriculation Academy (FA no 518 of 1994), the Apex Consumer court made it clear that .: "A school’s responsibility does not end with providing quality education. Safety of the students is as much an integral part of the service provided by it". Remind the schools about it and hold them accountable. Complain about schools that do not provide safe transportation, to the authorities. Demand action.
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