The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has urged all Public Service Vehicles(PSV) to ensure that their vehicles adhere to road safety standards as children head back to school.
In a public notice on Tuesday, August 19, the authority issued a checklist that drivers and conductors of PSV vehicles should adhere to, to ensure that all vehicles carrying children are safe, well-maintained, and compliant with road safety laws.
First on the list is ensuring that the vehicle is roadworthy and has a valid inspection certificate, road service licence (RSL) and insurance.
The authority also advised drivers and conductors to ensure that all vehicle parts, including the brakes, tyres, lights and wing mirrors, are in working order.
Furthermore, NTSA has said that drivers should ensure that their vehicle's speed governors are working and transmitting data to the authority's Intelligent Road Safety Management System (IRSMS), so as to help monitor the vehicle speed in real time.
Drivers and conductors should also ensure that they have valid driving licenses and PSV badges, to ensure that they are legally authorised to drive a passenger vehicle.
During transit, the authority directs that drivers and conductors ensure every child is securely seated and wearing a seatbelt, with no body parts hanging outside the vehicle.
The NTSA has also encouraged drivers and conductors to report any student under the influence of drugs or alcohol to the authority.
On the other hand, the authority has encouraged parents to ensure that they get in touch with their children's school to ensure that the vehicle taking their children back to school has a valid license, insurance, and is well serviced.
"Never allow your child to board an unroadworthy vehicle. Make their safety your priority. Call your child's school today and confirm if the vehicle they will use to transport your child back to school has a valid insurance, is licensed, serviced, and safe to carry your child," NTSA stated.
In a statement on Friday, August 15, the authority claimed that it had conducted random checks on school vehicles and numerous issues were identified, which could potentially compromise the safety of students as they go back to school.
According to the authority, some vehicles either did not have speed limiters or were broken; others had poor interiors, including torn seats, shaky cushions, broken door locks, and missing or faulty seat belts.
“For public systems, we have flagged 315,000 public service vehicles and commercial vehicles (Tare Weight 3049Kgs and above), operating without valid motor vehicle inspection certificates, and all the owners have been notified to undertake immediate remedial measures,” NTSA stated.
