Every alternate day we come across shocking news of
young children dying in road accidents. This no doubt raises umpteen number of
questions regarding child safety, children suffering due to no fault of their
own and what corrective measures to be taken to avoid further such casualties.
According to the National
Crime Records Bureau 20 children under the
age of 14 years die daily in road accidents in India. The nearly 70 deaths between January 2013 and July
2014 are of school students. In all the instances victims were travelling in
their school buses which were either hit by other vehicles or rolled down from
the slope.
India
has only about one percent of the world's vehicles but accounts for 10 percent of the world's road
accidents. These stunning figures definitely highlight how grave the issue of
child safety is in India.
According
to NGO Save Life Foundation’s Founder & President Mr. Piyush Tewari school
buses should come as a part of special vehicle like Ambulance unlike commercial
vehicles. As this implies even a truck driver can drive the school bus which
reduces the probability of sensitivity towards children riding in the bus.
Currently
there are no child safety laws, few measures under the same would mitigate the
risk:
-
Seat belts &
helmets for child
-
An adult supervisor to
be designated in all the buses who would keep a check on errant drivers
-
Drivers should undergo
formal training and they would need to renew their licenses every year. These
drivers should also be imparted training on First Aid in case of any medical
emergency.
