Bus owners blame poorly trained drivers for running over child

Monday’s incident of a school bus running over a three-year-old girl at Vidyavihar (East) has brought to fore the conduct of these drivers.

There have been five accidents involving school buses in the city in the last four months.

School bus owners claim that it is not the lack of safety equipment, but poorly trained drivers who are at fault. They complained about scarcity of “good drivers” as the rules mandate that only those who have been living in the state for at least 15 years can get the badge and permit to become a school bus driver. 

“If truck drivers are given permits based solely on five-year driving experience, why are there restrictions for school bus drivers? A minimum of five years’ experience is essential, but the clause about having domiciled in the state for 15 years needs to be changed,’’ said Santosh Shetty, who owns a fleet of school buses.

“These rules narrow down our choice to very few drivers as we do not get people who have lived here for 15 years.”

Anil Garg, president of the School Bus Owners’ Association, claims that such rules make the drivers overconfident. “Drivers  with badges have a big egos. They think they can get away with anything as they are in demand. This is one of the reasons why they are being negligent.”

Moreover, the RTOs are not regular about training on conduct and safety. “While the rules dictate that training should be given every six months, it hardly takes place once in a year. Most of the drivers are illiterate and they need to be trained about conduct and safety,” Garg said.