BENGALURU: According to data from the Bengaluru Traffic Police and Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) P Harishekaran, this year, the number of traffic violations on the city's roads have reduced drastically. However, focusing on specific violations as shown in this data, cases of vehicles carrying more school children than what can be accommodated, have risen as compared to last year by at least 200 cases. Seeing children packed in to autorickshaws and parents carrying three children on their two-wheelers is a regular scene in the city, especially during peak hours.
Last year, Bengaluru saw 4,556 cases of this happening, while this year, till September 30, the number of cases stands at 4,721.According to Kasim Raja, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic, East), private vans are not allowed to ferry students, and that only those registered with the school should be allowed. "In the case of autorickshaws and two-wheelers, only the required number of people are allowed to sit. In autorickshaws, only three can sit at the back, just like with adults. If more children are made to sit, it is a violation," he says.
MA Khan, principal and high school teacher at KK English School, Varthur, says that he often sees parents carrying too many children on their two-wheelers. “They do not wear helmets either. When we question the parents, they give us excuses like their house is just one kilometre away or that they have to rush to the office," says Khan.
“We have traffic awareness programmes once in three months. We also keep a security guard at the gate to question parents when they enter the campus with their vehicles. In addition to this, traffic police officials conduct awareness programmes twice a year to ensure children understand traffic violations,” Khan adds.
Vijaya James, a middle-school teacher at Sunshine School, Kalkere, says that rather than the autorickshaws and private vans, it is the parents who are violating rules by ferrying more children than allowed. Another teacher says, “Parents, while taking their own children to school, feel that they are more in control - this needs to change.”
Earlier in July, Bengaluru Traffic Police conducted a drive against vehicles carrying more children than allowed. Vehicles without proper documents were booked, and the owners were slapped with fines of `100. Nearly 1,255 school vans and cabs were booked for violating the permit conditions laid down by the Karnataka Motor Vehicles (conditions for vehicles engaged in the transport of school children) Rules, 2012, according to a report.
P Harishekaran did not respond when we tried contacting him.