Click to play videoMumbai: Monday's accident involving a private school van in Mumbai that claimed five lives has raised questions about safety of school children travelling by unregistered vehicles.
In 2007, the Delhi Government came out with a policy to register school vans as commercial vehicles.
The guidelines were:
- an approved CNG kit,
- a speed governor,
- amber lights that switch on when the doors open and close,
a yellow line and a plaque stating it is a 'school van'.
The safety of students travelling in private vans has been under scrutiny for the last one year, and now with the news of the accident in Mumbai the road just got a lot bumpier for these private van operators.
But operators say they are helpless. Out of 3500 vans that have applied for registration, only 80 have been successful so far. Operators also claim that the guidelines are impractical.
“Speed governors trip at the speeds of 35 and 40. This is dangerous. What if there is a vehicle approaching from the behind? That can lead to an accident,” says a private van operator Harsh Dua.
Schools too are reluctant to ban the vans.
“Schools can't put a blanket ban on vans. But we can inform parents on what the disadvantages of the system are,” says Principal Tagore International School Madhulika Sen.
With only two months remaining for the 15,000 vans on Delhi's roads to comply with the guidelines, it's a long way before school children can be assured a safe ride home.
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