Safety in School Buses…

One of the worst road disasters in Gujarat, which took a toll of 41 innocent lives of all school children, serves as yet another chilling reminder of how things can go awfully wrong on that normal routine, everyday trip to and back from school.

The question arises why such accidents occur so often. Why are the security norms issued by the government not implemented?

Quite a few of my friends say that their schools don’t follow but flout these norms. Especially the dtc buses and the private buses on contract with the school do not adhere to these norms.

Many of these buses have broken windows, broken or no bars on their windows, no first aid box and no fire extinguishers, all of which have been made mandatory for buses carrying school children. And there are still so many private vans which have not got them registered or got the mandatory yellow line and helpline number painted on them.

But it gives me a sense of pride that our school follows these norms strictly in the school buses.

However, I wonder when are the authorities of other schools going to wake up to the guidelines provided by the government.

A bigger, more prominent question on my mind…..when are the parents going to put their foot down and simply refuse to accept any unsafe transport for their precious children??

-Aparna Keswani

Xii-C