Mumbai exceeds national average in crashes involving kids during school commute

The survey found that in Mumbai, 11% of parents said their kids had been involved in an accident while commuting to or from school, as against the national average of 6%

A survey on the safety of the commute of school children across 14 cities found that Mumbai exceeded the national average in the number of children who have been involved in an accident while commuting to or from school.

Data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) reveals that 11,168 kids below the age of 18 lost their lives to road crashes in 2019, contributing to 7.4% of all accidents deaths. Out of these 379 deaths were reported from Maharashtra. (HT File photo for representation)

The survey covered 11,845 respondents including parents of school going children (Class 1 to 12) and 5,711 children between classes 6 and 12 across major metropolises including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.

The survey conducted after the outbreak of the Covid pandemic found that in Mumbai, 11% of the parents said that their children had been involved in an accident while commuting to or from school, as against the national average of 6%.

The research methodology was divided into two components — qualitative and quantitative — using a mixed method research technique. To capture the latter, a questionnaire comprising 10 questions was asked from the respondents, which included queries like whether seats of the school transport were equipped with seatbelts; whether the school conducted any workshops for road safety education and whether riders wore helmets during the commute to and from schools. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with school authorities, school boards, school bus drivers, van or carpool drivers, child road safety experts, traffic police officials, school authorities.

The survey found that Mumbai topped in terms of rash driving while Delhi and Vijaywada topped with respect to absence of safety gear in school transport. It also emerged that about 33% children had witnessed a crash during their commute to school, while 6% of them were involved in a road crash or a near-miss situation during their commute to and from school.

Data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) reveals that 11,168 children below the age of 18 lost their lives to road crashes in 2019, contributing to 7.4% of all crash deaths. Out of these 379 deaths were reported from Maharashtra.

Factors like poor road infrastructure, relatively unsafe vehicles, limited enforcement, and bad road-user behaviour contribute to the everyday risks faced by school children while commuting. Such risks are faced in both school affiliated and private transport, the study stated.

While 47% of the surveyed respondents whose child cycled to school reported that there were no cycling paths en route or even around the school, 30% of parents whose child walked to school reported missing footpaths around the school zone.

The survey was undertaken by SaveLIFE Foundation in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI).

“As of date, over 25 states and Union Territories have announced the reopening of schools. Our findings through this report have once again emphasised that the right to a safe commute to school is as important as the right to education itself. A comprehensive national and state school transport safety policy can ensure that,” SaveLIFE Foundation founder and chief executive officer Piyush Tewari said.

“We hope that this study will help all stakeholders further extend our vision of zero casualties to all modes of road transport,” said Manu Saale, managing director and CEO, MBRDI.