Your kid, his school bus and a near miss - Welcoming the start of another academic year



Sharing my experience from three days ago.

It was around 8am on a regular weekday.I was returning from the sports center driving my two wheeler at a speed of 30kmph (trust me, it is impossible to drive at speeds above 30 on those roads if you love your spine).

It was a narrow road, a school bus was at a safe distance ahead of me. It stopped abruptly not at the side, exactly at the middle of the road and thereby occupying at least 60% of the space on the road). I was also in a hurry as I had to reach my room, get ready and return to my office by 9am. In my mind I was cursing that badminton match that went longer than usual.

I honked and overtook the vehicle. All this time there was a kid who was 4 or 5 years of age standing still at the right end of the road in school uniform holding his mother's hand. I continued to drive through the right side of the stopped school bus and then to my surprise found the kid leaving his mother's hand and crossing the road. I was shocked and had to apply all my might on the brakes to save the kid. The kid's mom was in a state of shock and was stunned for the next few moments. And then I looked to my left to see the ayah of the bus signaling the kid to run fast and cross the road without even seeing if any vehicle was coming from the other end of the road. Had it been her kid would she have been so careless? Is it a lack of knowledge, or is it a lack of epathy? 



That lady attendant was on the far left side of the road, and by no means would she be able to see any vehicle coming from the right as her field of vision is completely masked by the school bus. To date I am not able to understand why she was so irresponsible or why the kid had to leave his mother's hand and run abruptly to the ayah or what would have been going through the mind of his mother.

I shouted at the lady attendant and the driver in my half baked vernacular language and made the kid's mom understand how the stupidity of an ayah would have caused her the life of her son.

Moreover, the incident left me with many questions in my mind
How safe are our kids once they leave their houses every day?
What can force the kids to forget the safety net?
Are there any guidelines for ensuring children's safety in schools and on roads?
Do we have any screening/training for the bus drivers, helpers in school buses, and other non-teaching staff at school?
Are our kids safe?

As a parent, what can you do?
1. Discuss your concerns on safety in the PTA meetings.
2. Appreciate the school for the steps they put forward to improve safety of students.
  
Ref:
1. National Disaster Management Guidelines School Safety policy  

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