Bhadrak: The district administration Saturday checked school vans and autos to find out if they adhere to the school bus safety guidelines. The step was taken following the Rahanja road accident that claimed lives of five school children.
Acting on the direction of the district administration, the transport department inspected the school vans and autos of over 20 educational institutions. Process for speed breakers and sign boards for the safety of students of those schools located along the side of National Highway has also been started.
During inspection, various aspects of the vehicles like whether they have installed GPS system, speed regulator to limit the speed not beyond 60 km/hour, wire grill on both sides and whether they have enough space under the seats for bags are to be checked, informed district transport officer Biranchi Narayan Adhikari.
“Drivers’ driving licenses and fitness of the vehicles are also to be verified,” he said, adding that steps would be taken for creating awareness for safety ferrying of students.
In the first phase, the violating vehicles would be let go with warnings and later on fines would be collected from them if found flouting the guidelines again.