Govt proposes stricter norms for vehicles t`ting schoolkids

Chennai: Tamil Nadu government has proposed stricter norms for vehicles and its drivers in transporting school children in the state, in the wake of a sixth standard girl student being run over by her school bus after she slipped through a hole in the floor of the bus.

The draft rules of the newly proposed `Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles (Regulation and Control of School Buses) Special Rules, 2012` was today submitted by Advocate General A Naveneethakrishnan to the Madras High Court,which took serious note of the incident and directed the government to frame new rules. The draft rules said a driver involved in transporting school children must hold a valid driving Licence, have a minimum experience of at least five years and must not have been fined more than twice in a year for offences like red light jumping, violation of lane discipline or allowing an unauthorised person to drive. Every school bus shall have an attendant above 21 years who has to get down first at each stopping and facilitate embarkation and disembarkation of school children, it said. All school buses must be painted yellow and not be overloaded, it said. The rules also noted that every school shall obtain roadworthiness certificate of their vehicles once in three months from the date of issue of renewal of fitness certificate. On submission of the draft rules, a divisional bench comprising Chief Justice MY Eqbal and Justice TS Sivagnanam directed government to notify the rules after following due process of law. "We have gone through the rules and we are fully satisfied. If the rules are implemented in letter and spirit, at least the accidents involving school buses will be minimised to a greater extent," the bench said, closing the case. PTI