The Hindu

Mangalore, Jun 5: The new academic year has begun and the parents are faced with the same old worries. Loads of homework, keeping the uniforms clean and ensuring that their children are in school on time braving the morning rush are some of the major concerns. But, more important than all these is the question of safety of their children who travel by private vans.

Parents have been opting for the smart minivans that ferry children from home to school and back six days a week. They appreciate the efficiency with which these vans operate within the city.

But, when they see the rash and negligent manner in which these vans are driven and the way the children are packed in these vehicles, their hearts sink. The traffic police do not question the vans for over-speeding or rash driving because they realise that the children will be delayed for schools.

There are about 300 school vans in Mangalore says, Sanjiva Shetty, an office-bearer in the Dakshina Kannada Taximen Association.

The school vans have to operate on either taxi permit or run as private service vehicles. Accommodation and speed of these vehicles are governed by road transport rules.

The parent-teachers' associations in various schools have appealed to the school management committees in the past to instruct the van drivers to exercise restraint on speed and have also sought the traffic police to enforce speed regulations, strictly but to no avail.

The police maintain that these vans are subjected to regular checks. But, stricter regulation is likely to affect the punctuality of students at schools, they say.

Mohan Salian, a van owner cum driver in Urva says that overloading of the vans had certain financial advantages. He agrees that only 5+1 passengers are permitted in a mini van.