[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

They have seatbelts ? That is awesome. More so because even school-buses in developed countries don't seem to have seat-belts.
What bus (make / model) is that ? And what kind of belt is provided ?

I am not too sure if having seatbelts is really a good idea in a bus full of kids. God forbid, should something go wrong, I am afraid that the few adults available will panic as any other average person and may not be able to unbelt all the kids before it is too late. The kids themselves may not be able to unbelt themselves. Moreover, it is not as if these school buses are going to be doing breakneck speeds all the time.

I think the parents insisting on having speed governors on school buses, set to a max of 40 kmph will go a long way to ensure safety that seat belts.

my 2 cents

Rajan

[supremeBaleno]

^^^There are always exceptions, Rajan.
A friend who incidentally never belts up though he drives a lot in city and highways at high speeds, always has this story to tell about "cons of seat belt". It seems 4 people known to him were travelling in a car that hit a tree and 3 of them were ejected out of the car on impact, since they were not wearing belts. The car was a wreck and if they were inside (ie. if belted in), they would have had serious injuries/fatalities. Basically the premise is that not wearing belts saved them. Would that mean that we should not wear belts ?

BTW, today's kids are smarter than we credit them for. My 4year old son knows how to operate belts.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

They have seatbelts ? That is awesome. More so because even school-buses in developed countries don't seem to have seat-belts.
What bus (make / model) is that ? And what kind of belt is provided ?

I stand corrected. Its not a 3 point seat belt but more of a lap belt. The kind that exists in the middle of our car rear seats. It is a Tempo traveller and has speed limits. I am not sure if it is installed in the vehicle or through instructions to drivers. Never seen them overspeeding or driving rash.

Originally Posted by Daewood

You can't blame the school for this. Once a school gets a 'good name' parents from all over the city want their child to study there.

Thats the point I am trying to make. Parents assume the school is responsible but the school has disclaimers. So who takes ownership of child safety? they are our kids after all, so before handing them over to a school we should ensure they are taken care of. So eventually ensuring the school (and getting there) is safe should be parents responsibility.

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

^^^There are always exceptions, Rajan.
A friend who incidentally never belts up though he drives a lot in city and highways at high speeds, always has this story to tell about "cons of seat belt".
BTW, today's kids are smarter than we credit them for. My 4year old son knows how to operate belts.

Biju, I am afraid I do not understand the context here. I am talking about the norm and you seem to be talking about exceptions

Also, the instinctive reaction in panic situations is something that is rather difficult to measure. Going by observations and hind-sight analysis of reactions of people who have been in panic situations and lived to tell the tale, I find it really hard to accept that kids will keep their calm, unbuckle and walk out, no matter how smart they are. Maybe it is just me.

Rajan

[supremeBaleno]

Sorry for the lack of clarity there. You mentioned that "it is not as if these school buses are going to be doing breakneck speeds all the time.", which basically implies that given the careful driving, accidents would be more an exception than the norm. And yes in those rare cases, possible that kids panic. But normal traffic situation in India is such that even if bus is carefully driven at 40kmph there is the jaywalker / biker / car that comes out of nowhere making the busdriver panic brake leading to kids hitting the seat/handle in front, which could be avoided by seat-belts.

And, adults also panic in accident scenarios. Plus the fact that sometimes it is required to cut off the seat-belt to rescue a person. But, these exceptional situations do not make us rule out belts.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Basically the premise is that not wearing belts saved them. Would that mean that we should not wear belts ? .

What happened to the 4th? Thats a totally freak incident and the fact is that more people have died after being ejected out of window. Thats the very reason why Nascar and touring cars have window nets

Check the link that Amitoj posted where thats exactly what happened. Hopefully you can put some sense into your friends head.

[supremeBaleno]

^^^ Re-checked with him - it seems all 4 were ejected. Totally freaky accident. Wonder how all the doors opened on impact.

He said he now wears belts on highways which is good since he drives his AltoK10 aggressively (above140), but no belts in city. I remember once when he asked me to drive his previous car (5-speed M800) to check out some noise and on getting in, I immediately belted up, not knowing that the belts were never used and were covered with dust. Had a nice dust band on my light coloured shirt. :-)

[mayankjha1806]

Just this morning, TOI reports that a 4 year old child died by being crushed by his own school bus. My hear goes out when i see such news on the paper.

Driver did a inhuman act by not stopping, put the boy in the bus and sped away. Later left the bus and ran away. If only we as a society were more human towards our children.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Just this morning, TOI reports that a 4 year old child died by being crushed by his own school bus. My hear goes out when i see such news on the paper.

Driver did a inhuman act by not stopping, put the boy in the bus and sped away. Later left the bus and ran away. If only we as a society were more human towards our children.

Very sad to hear such news, looks like this school bus didn't have a attender at all even though it had around 15 kids.

4-year-old boy crushed by his own school bus - The Times of India

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Very sad to hear such news, looks like this school bus didn't have a attender at all even though it had around 15 kids.

Parents subscribe for the transportation and believe that the child is in safe hands. Schools setup the transport and believe the child is in safe hands. Then the drivers do something like this.

What a waste of life. I wonder how a 4 year old boy was allowed to stand on the steps of a moving bus

Rajan

[shankar.balan]

Unfortunately life is cheap here in India. Population pressures are immense. Where one falls another ten will rise etc etc.
The government has placed no mandatory regulation and zoning for schools and educational institutions. Anyone with sufficient money and influence can get a license and open a school.
Transportation standards are the same. Each morning and/ or evening in my neighbourhood I see the way the school bus or van drives at such high speeds with many kids on board. There are no seat belts and no other safety kit. There is no attendant or teacher. Only a bus driver is present. The only saving grace is that the kids are not standing because there is enough space to sit inside the bus.
Parents are under deep pressure too because both of them are probably working and need to make ends meet. Outsourcing the transport is a sensible option or would be, if there were some regulation and enforcement of standards. In this current scenario, it is very very difficult indeed. I can only empathise with those who must be going through such traumatic experiences daily!
Will we ever learn to respect human or animal life above the concerns of time and money? Or are we so messed up and materialistic in our heads here in India?

[PAVAN KADAM]

Lets not make this thread too generic.

The bottom line is, School transport is one of the worst i've seen.

I simply wonder when i see 25 kids ferried around in a maruti van, those 10 kids in a Auto-rickshaw . For that matter, even the school buses, they drive like ambulances on emergency duty , its inhuman by any standards.

I would possibly not be able to derive any solution for this problem. I would dread to send her in those dangerous School transports. But i have infact tried to solve my own case quite effectively.

1) 8:15 am - I myself drop my kid to school before leaving for office
2) 1:00 pm - My wife hands over the lunch box
3) 3:30 pm - My Dad does the picking up

Other odd days when she has her dance classes and Cubs & Bulbuls we still manage it easily. Its easily possible to devote atleast so much time towards the kid when u live in a Big Indian Joint family, also the fact that her school is 1 km away from home

Some of we parents go in search of those Hi-Lifestyle schools, which i find it amusing at times. Even though we have well reputed schools in our vicinity, we are bent upon sending them to far off schools. For another few days, the school transport guys will be very cautious, but over the week, these things wane off and it will be back to being normal & unsafe.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Just this morning, TOI reports that a 4 year old child died by being crushed by his own school bus.

The case of kids crushed by their own school bus/van has happened so many times in Chennai.

Someone mentioned in this thread about schools encouraging car-pooling by parents of kids staying in same apartment/locality. This IMO is one of the best solutions if we want to really show our love for our kids, instead of just talking about it. A school in Chennai on P.H.Road also started this - though the motivation there was primarly to cut down the traffic due to each parent coming to drop their kid in individual cars. Many women drive nowadays and 2-3 of them can come together to drop 4-5 kids in a car on a rotation basis.

[PatchyBoy]

Car pooling is a good idea for upmarket schools where parents usually drop the kids to school in their own cars. In those cases, car pooling will only help reduce traffic congestion and will really not make a difference to the safety of the children.

It is those schools that provide transport or those schools that do not provide transport, thus leaving parents with no option other than using private transport, that neglect safety of the kids.

Not all parents have cars and not all parents that have cars drop their kids to school. What can be done to ensure safety of these kids that have to use the unsafe transport options that their parents choose on their behalf?

Rajan

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

I would possibly not be able to derive any solution for this problem.

One possible solution is BMTC running exclusive schools bus service. Either the schools can opt for a dedicated route or the parents can send their kids on a generic route, which picks from a place nearby home and drops at school gate.

Some of we parents go in search of those Hi-Lifestyle schools, which i find it amusing at times. Even though we have well reputed schools in our vicinity, we are bent upon sending them to far off schools.

The best school is one, among other attributes, which is near. Its good that few schools ask for proof of residence, and select kids who stay close to school.