New road policy mandates safety audit by schools

CHILDREN FIRST Greater focus on school drivers, illegal vehicles ferrying kids to be monitored; workshops to be held at regular intervals

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government’s upcoming ‘Road Safety Policy’ will require all schools and areas surrounding them to undergo a safety audit for identifying the number of illegal vehicles being used to ferry children and the role of school administration in it.

As an immediate safety measure, the policy mandates agencies to install physical traffic calming patches on all roads leading to schools, hospitals and bus terminals. Officials of the transport department, which drafted the policy, said that it will also bring amendments to Delhi Motor Vehicles (DMV) Act to make schools accountable.

“The DMV Act already has laws like school vehicle drivers, before being given the permit, should have at least five years experience, should not be challaned for offences like speeding or drunken driving . But, these are hardly checked. While parents engage private vehicles, schools are doing the same in an unauthorised manner,” said a transport department official.

The move comes after a a seven-year-old girl was killed and 17 children were injured after an overloaded school van was hit by a speeding tanker in northwest Delhi’s Kanhaiya Nagar. Out of nearly 25,000 private vehicles plying for different schools, only around 4000 are registered.

The guidelines will also ensure that workshops are conducted in all 2,929 schools of Delhi at regular i ntervals, money to organise which will be given from a State Road Safety Fund maintained by the lead agency, Road Safety Cell.

Experts said the policy was long due and that it should help sensitise officials of enforcement and road owning agencies. Kamal Soi, member of the national road safety council and chairperson of NGO Raahat Foundation, said that the policy should also talk about a ‘scientific challaning’ system.

“All roads in Delhi need to be mapped so agencies can identify

the highest area specific offences. Based on this, a combination of interventions can be introduced,” Soi said.

The policy will also make it mandatory for all commercial vehicles to get fitness tests from automated centres.

Sewa Ram, professor of trans-

port planning at the School of Planning and Architecture welcomed the new rules, but said implementation was going to be the real test. “The policy shouldn’t be left as just another document. Agencies have to focus on keeping roads clear and pothole free,” he said.