[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Samurai

We don't even let our kids ride in the cars without wearing seat belts, obviously we don't know. No wonder we didn't want our son to be the 15th passenger.

But lot of parents do let their kids go to school in this fashion. Shouldn't this practice be banned, I can't even imagine how I can seat 14 kids in my SUV, let alone a rickshaw. And kids don't stay quiet in the auto, they keep pushing, pulling, ribbing, tickling... generally being kids. That makes it even more dangerous. When will this crazy practice end?

For people who have a choice of sending their kids to school by private transportation, this practice should NOT be an option. If such people send their kids to school in this manner, they (the parents, i.e.) should be punished.

But the other question is - how many people really have the option?

Originally Posted by Samurai

PS: My son is quite unhappy that he is not allowed to ride to school in the auto-rickshaw in this fashion along with his friends. For him it is a fun-filled roller-coaster ride.

Understandable - it really is great fun for the kids. I know, because I've been on one of those as a kid - for a short period until I got my bicycle.

[Ho0ligaN]

Originally Posted by Samurai

PS: My son is quite unhappy that he is not allowed to ride to school in the auto-rickshaw in this fashion along with his friends. For him it is a fun-filled roller-coaster ride.

I was *privileged* enough to go to school in such an auto for 1 year, it's quite fun I tell you, although we had only about 7-8 people. Mostly becuase most of us were 8th standard+. And I used to sit with the driver. I must concede in hindsight, it was not safe.. what with me jumping out of the auto when its running and going over to the other side of the driver(while its still running), switching between driver compartment and passenger compartment(also when auto is running), crazy times that were.

Originally Posted by diabloo

School Bus - Us v Them

haha, these days its battered old rickety omnis running on LPG that does the job, I hardly see school autos these days. Apparently parents feel omni is safer than autos coz it has like a shell or something. but what they dont realize is that it can do higher speeds than auto and the drivers driving them are monumetally insane.

and that is not all, going by cycle is not the in thing anymore, I see a lot of kids going on activas/dios these days, and no they are not 16 yet. and those who are 16 ride bikes to school. there was an article on bangalore mirror or something on this, like kids are going by activa/motorcycle these days because parents in bangalore have such hectic work loads, bus is unreliable and slow, auto is too costly. and the school authority doesn't say a word.

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by Samurai

She: How many kids do you transport?
He: About 13-14 kids.
She: How many trips do you make?
He: Just one.
She: Do you have extra seats fixed your auto?
He: No, it is the normal auto rickshaw, no extra seats.
She: Then how?
He: I make two of them sit in the front with me, and 12 of them on the rear.
She: Oh, then I don't think we want your service, it is too dangerous.
He: (Clearly frustrated) Ohh! It is quite safe.You people don't know!

Of course we don't know what is safe for our children. We have to depend on the auto guy to educate us.

OTOH, how many of us make the effort of holding our child's hand and walking him/her to school? We just do not have the time. We are too busy with ourselves that we hardly have time for the family. While I do not feel it is justified and safe, I believe that we as parents are responsible for such careless and unsafe practices. While you had the sense to not allow your son to use this autorickshaw, the parents of the other 14 children think it is OK. Shows how much they really care for their children. I am willing to bet a month's wages that there is atleast one vehicle (2 or 4 wheeler) in each of these 14 kids houses. Dad just does not have the time. Or the school is on the other way and Dad cannot make that detour to drop the child.

I would not blame that auto driver.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers,
Rajan

[diabloo]

These days, I don't see parents walking their kids to school. I guess its a little out of fashion. Now I see many parents holding their kids hands and walking them to malls.

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

OTOH, how many of us make the effort of holding our child's hand and walking him/her to school? We just do not have the time. We are too busy with ourselves that we hardly have time for the family. While I do not feel it is justified and safe, I believe that we as parents are responsible for such careless and unsafe practices. While you had the sense to not allow your son to use this autorickshaw, the parents of the other 14 children think it is OK. Shows how much they really care for their children. I am willing to bet a month's wages that there is atleast one vehicle (2 or 4 wheeler) in each of these 14 kids houses. Dad just does not have the time. Or the school is on the other way and Dad cannot make that detour to drop the child.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

We just do not have the time. We are too busy with ourselves that we hardly have time for the family. While I do not feel it is justified and safe, I believe that we as parents are responsible for such careless and unsafe practices.

May this is true for cities, but there is no such hustle-bustle or traffic in my small town. The school is just a 5 minutes drive from my neighbourhood.

driving them yourself is the best option
car pooling is 2nd best, but a lot more practical.

my dad would drive us down and pick us up himself when we were in school. trip of 25-30kms everyday through rush hour cochin(I admit,traffic wasnt bad in the 80s/90s)

but he would do this for us, inspite of being a busy paediatrician and us having our own driver. he just didnt trust anyone else with his kids.

if he had a patient to look at urgently, it meant we would be late for assembly or stay back for hours together at school till he turned up

we preferred that, it gave us(me and my brothers) quality time with dad
and also let us learn driving ,watching him drive for years, every day.

I'll be doing the same as he did.

[esteem_lover]

There are a lot of people who do not have the required resources to talk big. What do they do ? Would you say that they don't care enough for their children ?

I would like all those who preach to at least come to that stage when you need to decide & then start preaching. A lot of us on Team-BHP maybe able to afford to spare their time & vehicle or even buy a new vehicle just for this & hire a driver (then why call up a auto/omni driver in the first place ?). Please spare a thought also for the parents of these kids.

Ideally the school should be able to run & maintain enough vehicles to transport their children. They could be able to do this on a cost to cost or a minimum profit basis, it should help one & all. Or at least these vans/autos should be certified by the school & made sure that they do not overcharge and overload.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

There are a lot of people who do not have the required resources to talk big. What do they do ? Would you say that they don't care enough for their children ?

I would like all those who preach to at least come to that stage when you need to decide & then start preaching. A lot of us on Team-BHP maybe able to afford to spare their time & vehicle or even buy a new vehicle just for this & hire a driver (then why call up a auto/omni driver in the first place ?). Please spare a thought also for the parents of these kids.

Thank you, John. This was exactly my point.

No parent would willingly put their own blood in danger. It so happens that in some cases you have NO other option.

[Samurai]

My feeling is most parents don't see the danger. In my company, two-wheeler riders (visitor & employee) without helmet are forced to leave their vehicle outside the gate. But we are often challenged by visitors saying it is not required by law, the line about safety doesn't even register. And I am often reminded by people that I need not wear seat belts anymore since I have left Bangalore. Again, the argument about safety doesn't make a dent.

Therefore, I feel the main cause of this overcrowded auto-rickshaw is plain ignorance than carelessness. Unless government makes the rules and enforces it strictly, nobody will comply, just like in the case of helmet and seat belts.

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by Samurai

...
He: I make two of them sit in the front with me, and 12 of them on the rear.
She: Oh, then I don't think we want your service, it is too dangerous.
He: (Clearly frustrated) Ohh! It is quite safe.You people don't know!

Originally Posted by Samurai

May this is true for cities, but there is no such hustle-bustle or traffic in my small town.

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Thank you, John. This was exactly my point.

No parent would willingly put their own blood in danger. It so happens that in some cases you have NO other option.

Sending your kid packed with 12 other kids in an auto meant to carry 3 passengers in a town without hustle-bustle traffic and then trying to claim that one will not put ones own blood in danger willingly.. doesn't it sound hollow, or is it just me?

@Samurai, I am glad that you did not choose to put your son on that auto. Hope other parents also think like you.

For the record, I just don't preach. I moved from a house just 6 kms from work to a place very close to where my kids study, so that my kids are comfortable going to school. The price I pay for this move - I drive 23 kms one way to work everyday in Bangy's maniac traffic. I would rather endure the stress, than trust my kids safety in the hands of some murderous driver. Where there is a will there is a way.

There is no such thing as NO option. The options are there, we just do not want to take it.

Cheers,
Rajan

[shock]

The thing which troubled me the most was to see a couple on a splendor with a baby( say 2-3 months old) in her hand and hanging on to nothing!!!. The couple looked well off..atleast they had enough money to buy a used maruti 800 and put an extra grand or so for the petrol..just to save the fuel cost the chance they are taking is extreme and that too in a city like bangalore...

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

There is no such thing as NO option. The options are there, we just do not want to take it.

There is - trouble is, you'll find out only when you get there.

We're talking here about people who do not have a vehicle of their own to go and drop their kids off, not those who have to drive 6 km extra to drop their kids off. Unfortunately, such people are still the majority in India.

There are those for whom a 15 minute delay to work could mean the loss of their job and therefore their livelihood. For whom a day off from work is NOT an option. They do not work to their schedules but to those of others. There are many such people around us in the world - they have kids too. They love their kids too, but they are the ones that have to compromise their feelings and sentiments for practical stuff like living from day to day. Or month-end to month-end.

the problem with us as a country is- we turn a blind eye to safety.
agreed no one will willingly put their own blood in danger.

ignorance and overconfidence are the problems here.

1.do people realise the dangers of stuffing 15kids into an auto/LPG fuelled Van? if they do realise that- how can they allow it? please dont tell me they have no option.
is endangering your own flesh and blood an option???????
it is not an option!

leaving home early to drop your own kids is an option
admitting your children to a nearby school is an option
car pooling is an option
taking turns to walk the neighbourhood's kids to school is an option
dropping them off at the nearest school bus stop is an option
teaching housewives to use mechanised transport is an option

the only preaching happening here is by people who think they are speaking for the underprivileged, by saying they have no option.

2.if they don't realise that it is dangerous, shouldnt we educate them?

fine, let us assume that they really have no option! but that excuse is good only for daily wage earners and invalids. none of us TBHPians should have to resort to using super capacity autos.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

fine, let us assume that they really have no option! but that excuse is good only for daily wage earners and invalids. none of us TBHPians should have to resort to using super capacity autos.

Scroll back a few posts:

Originally Posted by Steeroid

For people who have a choice of sending their kids to school by private transportation, this practice should NOT be an option. If such people send their kids to school in this manner, they (the parents, i.e.) should be punished.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

I would like all those who preach to at least come to that stage when you need to decide & then start preaching.

Ha, John, I clearly fit this description - not yet at that stage, but preaching.

Anyway, my angst (or preaching if you would) was because my niece was involved and she being the first kid in the family is very dear to all of us, especially me. And when I saw that my BIL was not taking any action even after the poor thing had 2 mishaps, it really got my goat.

To take his case, he has a car (his brother also has a car). Even if no other parents join the car pool, between them they should be able to alternately take their kids to school and back home.

Coming to time factor, he works as a lecturer in a college, and at most has 3 classes (1 hour each) to take each day. College starts at 10AM or so, while the kid's school is at 8:30AM or so. While the college is not near the school, it is not far off also and being a small city, traffic is not very bad. If I were in his place, I would have no issues dropping the kids in the morning and picking them up at 3PM or so.

In short, it is do-able for him. Maybe there are others for whom it is not this easy - in which case, some other alternatives should be thought of.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Ideally the school should be able to run & maintain enough vehicles to transport their children. Or at least these vans/autos should be certified by the school & made sure that they do not overcharge and overload.

But this is, as you yourself put it, an ideal situation and you very well know that it is not how things work in India.

EDIT : BTW, I was talking from a tbhp-ians viewpoint (not the underprivileged, for whom options might be limited).