The Uttarakhand School Van Association (USVA) has assured that its members will adhere to the directions issued for school vans by the high court. At a meeting held on Sunday, the State president of USVA Sachin Gupta informed members about the court directions and also heard out their issues.
Addressing the gathering Gupta said, “The Regional Transport Office (RTO) and City Patrol Unit (CPU) have communicated various regulations as per the HC directions. We agree to every term and condition as the safety of children is also a major concern for us. We are together with the department but the authorities should not harass our members.”
Gupta, further, asked the school van drivers to follow the rules which include keeping a first aid box, using seat belt while driving, not using the phone while driving, keeping all necessary documentation, wearing proper uniform and keeping an ID among other directions. “If any member of the association fails to follow all the directions the association will not take any responsibility of the person and he has to face the fine or seizure of the vehicle by the RTO,” he added.
The main issue raised by drivers in the meeting was regarding the number of children in one van and installation of speed governor. Gupta said, “As per the direction by the RTO, if the students are aged below 12 years, seven to 12 can be carried in one van. School vans should also have speed governors to prevent speeding. We will follow all the new orders from August 1.”
He further added, “We ask the RTO to be a bit lenient initially as installing the new features may take some time.”