Ludhiana administration mulls dope test of school bus drivers

Nikhil Bhardwaj/ Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana/ Faridkot, August 12

After drivers of two school buses, which recently met with accidents in Ludhiana, were found ferrying the students allegedly under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, the district administration is mulling dope tests of bus drivers.

Officials said only those drivers who clear the dope test would be allowed to ferry the students. Apart from this, the authorities would also deploy patrolling teams with alcometers.

On August 6, Gurman Singh of Class I died after driver of Sanmati Vimal Jain Convent school rammed the bus into a tree allegedly in a “drunken state”.

On August 9, driver of Blossoms Convent School crashed the bus into the wall at Bujurg village in Jagraon.

Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said, “After recent accidents, a special drive was launched to check whether drivers are driving school buses in a proper manner or not. In both the incidents, apart from the bus drivers, school principals and management has also been named in the FIRs.”

“We are exploring the idea to conduct mandatory dope tests of school bus drivers. It can be done once in six months or a year. We are also mulling to deploy cops at strategic spots with alcometers to keep tabs on drunken driving. If any driver is found under the influence of drugs, immediate action will be taken against him and the school authorities,” added Sawhney.

After every accident involving school children, the Transport Department and traffic police swing into action and put forth the order which bans the use of vehicles older than 15 years for ferrying students.

As per the order, all school buses, vans and auto-rickshaws should be painted in yellow with a green stripe. They should also not carry children beyond the permitted capacity. The vehicle should be fitted with a speed governor having a maximum speed limit of 40 km/hr. The vehicles should possess a contract carriage permit and the driver should have a valid licence to drive transport vehicle for a period of at least four years.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Transport Department officer said, “Many operators convert old vehicles into school vans and add wooden planks to ferry more students. Such vehicles expose children to multiple risks, including safety aspect. Even insurance firms deny claims to victims’ kin in such a scenario.”

Faridkot Deputy Commissioner Vineet Kumar said, “We urge the parents not to take risk with the lives of their kids. They need to check the condition of vehicles which ferry their children to schools. The parents should also ensure that the driver is following all safety rules.”