Bhayandar: To ensure safe and secure commuting, officials attached to the traffic control unit of the Thane (rural) police have finally rolled up their sleeves to crack the whip on rickety school buses and their operators who ferry students by blatantly ignoring the safety norms.
Senior inspector (traffic) Anil Pawar has issued directives to the managements of educational institutions to ensure their transport system was operating in compliance with mandated guidelines and regulations, including regular fitness checks, updated documentation and background verification of staffers ferrying the students.
This apart instructions to be given to school bus drivers and attendants to observe traffic rules like wearing seat belts, avoid speeding and rash driving, safety precautions while boarding and alighting students.
“School buses that don’t follow safety norms eventually risk the children’s lives. To ensure safe commuting for students and to avoid the slightest chance of negligence, the move has been initiated. Violators will not be spared,” he warned.
Most of the school managements usually do not bother to check if their operator is complying with the transport regulations, unless there are specific complaints regarding quality of service.
Last month, the police had penalised an operator after a bus was found plying without glass panes on its rear window. Private mini-vans packed beyond capacity and plying recklessly without permits are also under the scanner of the traffic police.
