Private school vans ferrying schoolchildren in Gurgaon better watch out. The Gurgaon administration on Monday has decided to take strict action against vehicles found to be in violation of the Surakshit School Vahan Policy while ferrying children to and from schools.
Vinay Pratap Singh, deputy commissioner of Gurgaon, said a special drive would be launched by the Regional Traffic Authority (RTA) and the district traffic police to crack down on erring vehicles. He directed the RTA and the traffic police to conduct random checks on these school vans, as it was necessary to ensure that the safe-school-vehicle policy was being followed.
According to additional deputy commissioner and RTA secretary Pradeep Dahiya, private school vans were registered as private vehicles but used as school vehicles, which was wrong. He also added that often, these vehicles packed in more students than they could accommodate, as a result of which children were often found sitting on the vehicles’ installed CNG cylinders. The vans also often drove rash, he added.
Dahiya said that according to the provisions laid down in the Motor Vehicles Act, such drivers could be fined up to Rs ₹20,000, apart from other penalties.
