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School vans (Omnis) - a disaster waiting to happen

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Written By s_yajaman - 12 December, 2007

Traffic Bangalore Bangalore Complaint public transport

When I go to drop my boys at school and pick them up, a familiar sight greets me - Maruti Omnis with about 12-15 kids in each of them. There is not even space to keep their bags inside the Omni and so they are on the roof. Many of these are with white boards and so possibly illegally being used for this. If this overloading is not enough, the way they are driven is horrific. I have seen them go at full speed, jumping lights, taking turns without slowing down, etc. Sadly it seems a matter of time before something serious happens. I empathise with the parents of the children - not every school offers a convenient bus service. When they do, I think they charge about Rs.1000 p.m. per child. They might not have a doorstep pick up and drop. This probably compels them to turn a blind eye to the dangers. But is it fair to the child to put him or her in mortal danger. Should they not follow the taxi randomly to see how the chap drives and then have a word with him? If he refuses to listen then better to take your child out of that service? Of course the authorities turn a blind eye to this. I wonder when they will act Srivathsa

COMMENTS

School Vans - Parents to Act

Sailor - 13 December, 2007 - 13:21

Good observation - is it possible to post pics of any of these vans? Are there any safe school vans? and I believe there are. Many years ago, there was a gentleman in Banashankari who had a very organized setup with Matador Vans - maybe they could be setup as role models? Authorities yes, but I think Parents more should take some action - TODAY and not tomorrow!!

@ School vans (Omnis) - a disaster waiting to happen

ravishankar - 12 December, 2007 - 16:29

I totally agree with you. This is one disaster for sure in waiting. I have come across many such omni vans being driven haphazardly. By the time you try to catch them they are out of the place. Kids inside the van surely feel a joy ride the way the vans are driven but they are unaware of the situation outside the van and what can happen to them. I would suggest parents to keep regular vigil on the way the drivers drive these omni vans. In case you find any reckless driving catch the driver red-handed and warn him. In case of repeated instances pull out your kid(s) and the best option would be to drop them yourself. When i was a kid we had some kind of resource pooling where parents rotated the responsibility of dropping and picking up children to schools or requested the ayah to do that work and pay some decent amount for that. If you are not able to do both of them then find some student studying in some higher class(say high school) in your neighborhood and ask them to accompany group of kids to and from school. One more scenario i have observed regularly is many pedestrians never bother to "Look left then right before crossing a road". They just start crossing and once some vehicles honk at them they stop and later proceed. Why is such kind of careless attitude coming to most of the people. If parents are doing this who will teach the kids about road safety. I don't know whether the schools are still teaching the children about road safety as i find many children also doing the same even in presence of the parents. Wonder what will happen to people in coming days. -Ravi

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