Taking note of the recent school van accident, the MP Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MPCPCR) has made certain recommendations to ensure safety of children travelling to and from school in different vehicles.

The recommendations have come in the wake of the death of five students in recent accidents involving a bus and a van ferrying them in Indore and Ujjain districts.

In a letter addressed to ADG, Police Training and Research Institute (PTRI), member of Commission Brajesh Chauhan said that with the 2022-23 academic session commencing, it was crucial to ensure that the school children travelled safely.

The Commission has recommended that the buses, vans and Magic vehicles ferrying students should be inspected at least twice every week. The buses should mandatorily have two gates and should be equipped with CCTV cameras, speed governors and fire extinguishers.

The Commission has also recommended that every vehicle should have an attendant and that police verification of attendant and the driver should be undertaken. The school management should police verification of personnel manning the vehicles.

The vehicles should not use LPG kits and should not be overloaded. They should be regularly subjected to fitness checks. Zebra crossings should be built on roads in front of schools and proper signages should be put up to ensure that vehicle drivers know that there is school ahead.

In case, parents are dropping and picking up their wards, they should be made to execute a self-declaration.