Necessary news- School bus fire in Thailand: 25 students died, what are the rules regarding school buses in India, know everything

Last Tuesday, a school bus caught fire in Thailand's capital Bangkok. 25 students died in this accident. According to news agency AFP, there were 44 people on board the bus, out of which 16 have been admitted to the hospital. This bus was returning from a school trip.

Such accidents are extremely unfortunate, but as parents we also have some responsibilities, which we often ignore while selecting a school vehicle for our children.

so today news of need I will talk about how to choose a school bus for children? You will also learn that-

Expert: Saurabh Kumar, Regional Transport Officer, Banda (Uttar Pradesh)

Question- What kind of school vehicles should parents choose for their children?

answer- In today's era, it is common for children to go to school by school bus, van etc. Parents who cannot take their children to school themselves choose other means of transportation. In such a situation, parents should keep the following things in mind while selecting any school vehicle. Such as-

Check security arrangements

Before sending the child to school, the safety features of the school vehicle should be checked. Such as what is the condition of the vehicle, what is the qualification of the driver and what are the arrangements in the vehicle for emergency.

View facilities for children

The vehicle should have air conditioner (AC), CCTV camera, emergency gate and adequate seating space for children.

Be sure to check the driver's history

Before sending children to school, check the driver's name, address, license number and his police verification report. Apart from this, the driver must have permission from the school administration.

Question- In which type of vehicles children should not be sent to school?

answer- Sending children to school in vehicles like vans, tempos, e-rickshaws and autos should be avoided as such vehicles do not have seat belts and other safety features. In most of the cases, it has been seen that more children are seated in these vehicles than their capacity, due to which the risk of accident increases. Therefore this vehicle is not at all safe from safety point of view.

Note: Instead of these vehicles, it is safer to send children to school in a safe and comfortable school bus or private vehicle.

Question- What are the rules regarding school buses in India?

answer- Today almost all private schools in cities provide bus facilities to pick children from home and send them back home.

School buses are considered the safest for children. However, this alone is not enough for the safety of the child. It is also necessary for school buses to meet certain safety standards. This includes having fire fighting equipment inside the bus, iron rods on the windows, first aid boxes and adequate space to keep school bags under the seats. Parents should check from time to time whether these safety standards are being followed in the school bus or not.

Understand from the graphic below what are the guidelines set for school buses.

Question: To whom can parents complain if school bus drivers do not follow traffic rules?

answer- Banda's Regional Transport Officer Saurabh Kumar says that if a school bus driver is violating traffic rules, then you can first contact the school administration and lodge a complaint. If the school administration does not take any cognizance of your complaint then you can complain at the following places.

Before contacting these authorities, you must collect the necessary documents and evidence in support of your complaint.

Question- What action can be taken if guidelines are not followed in school vehicles?

answer- If schools do not follow vehicle safety guidelines, various legal actions can be taken against them.