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Drivers told to be mindful of school students’ safety

— File photo

Safety thrown to the winds: Children crammed inside an autorickshaw while on their way to school in Puducherry.

PUDUCHERRY: Concerned over the safety of school students travelling in autorickshaws, the traffic police have asked drivers to avoid cramming students beyond the passenger capacity.

With schools reopening last week, autorickshaws overloaded with students have become a regular scene in Puducherry. The traffic police would check violations to ensure the safety of students.

“We have instructed autorickshaw drivers to avoid carrying excess number of students in the vehicles for school trips. To reach the schools on time, the auto drivers recklessly drive the vehicles. We have warned them to avoid reckless driving and travelling at high speed,” Superintendent of Police (Traffic) G.P. Palanivel said.

In many instances, the children almost hang outside the vehicles due to overloading, putting them at great risk. The school bags of the students also hang outside the autorickshaws, he pointed out.

It was with the objective to create awareness among the drivers that the traffic police conducted a meeting on Saturday. The meeting, which was specifically aimed at ensuring safe school transportations, had a participation of 85 auto drivers and representatives of autorickshaw associations.

“Overloading could result in accidents, as there are chances that the children might fall from the vehicle when brakes are applied suddenly. During the meeting, we told the drivers to avoid haphazard parking of vehicles in front of the schools. They should take steps to correct such violations,” he added.

He said a maximum of six children could travel in an autorickshaw. The traffic police would be carrying out regular checks during school hours. “Action will be taken on auto drivers who violate the traffic rules. Such awareness meetings would be held again if violations continue,” Mr. Palanivel said.

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