Gurugram administration to crack down on errant private school van drivers

In a bid to boost road safety, the district administration will run a special campaign to issue challans (fines) to private van operators who flout rules while ferrying school children

In a bid to boost road safety, the district administration will run a special campaign to issue challans (fines) to private van operators who flout rules while ferrying school children. The decision was taken in a meeting on road safety, chaired by deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh, on Wednesday.

The Gurugram district administration has directed all schools to keep a record of details of vendors who ferry children. (Photo used for representational purposes only) (HT Photo)

“Overloaded vans put children’s lives at risk. We will not allow private vans to carry more children than the subscribed limit. We will run a special campaign to challan private van operators who flout the rules,” Munish Sharma, additional deputy commissioner, said.

In line with its Surakshit Vahan Policy, there are committees at the state-, district- and sub-district levels that have laid down rules for ensuring safety of schoolchildren.

As per the policy, vehicles engaged in carrying schoolchildren cannot ferry children in excess of 1.5 times the vehicle’s registered seating capacity. However, poor implementation of rules and lax monitoring has failed to keep a check on accidents involving these vans.

Sharma said 50 private van drivers of different schools had been issued a ticket by the Regional Traffic Authority in September alone.

The administration has also directed all schools to keep a record of details of vendors who ferry children. Information such as the driver’s name, mobile number and number of children being ferried should be made available, the rules stipulate.

Sharma informed that the administration was keeping a check on underage drivers. ACP, traffic Hawa Singh , who was also present in the meeting, said that in the last three months, 135 fines were issued for underage driving in the district.

“We have told all schools to ensure that children do not travel in vans that are crammed beyond capacity. Schools have also been told to check if students are riding bikes or driving cars in contravention of rules. We will keep a strict check on underage driving,” Premlata Yadav, district elementary education officer, said.