Flouting of rules rampant

KOCHI: Many school buses have been found violating the guidelines set by the Supreme Court for operating such services. “In all, 117 cases were registered in one month for violating the rules. Many of these cases were related to drivers not having adequate experience,” Regional Transport Officer T J Thomas said. According to the rules, a minimum of five years of experience is required for drivers of small school vans and light vehicles. School bus drivers should have an experience of at least 10 years. Speeding, rash driving and driving without permits have become a common practice among the bus drivers in the state. The statistics available with the Motor Vehicles Department reveal that school bus drivers are also involved in many accidents. But the authorities claim that the rules are being strictly implemented. “Whenever a driver is caught violating rules, a case is immediately registered against him and a fine imposed,” Thomas said.  According to the guidelines set forth by the court, school buses should be painted yellow and they should have ‘School Bus’ signs painted on the front, back and sides. At least one door attendant, horizontal grips on all windows, first aid boxes and reliable door locks should be equipped in the buses. Statistics say that the number of cases being booked for overloading has gone up by 10 per cent. School buses should only accommodate a limited number of students and rules stipulate that one and a half student should be counted as one adult.But another official with the Motor Vehicles Department attributed overloading to the lack of adequate number of buses in private schools. “Many unaided schools do not have the finances to buy adequate number of buses. In many cases, school authorities are forced to take vehicles on rent to transport students.However, the hiring of vehicles creates problems as many bus operators do not adhere to the rules. In many cases it has been observed that bus drivers do not even have proper driving licences. “At least 25 such cases were booked in the past few months. Also, a few cases of speeding and unauthorised use of gas in buses were also registered,” Thomas said.