TRAINING OF SCHOOL VAN DRIVERS – A SIGNIFICANT ELEMENT OF
ROAD SAFETY
Population and vehicle ownership are the two important factors that are directly dependent on the increase in the victims of road traffic accidents or severe crashes. There are different types of road users exist in the traffic stream of Karachi. It includes Rider, Pillion rider, Passengers, Pedestrians, Drivers, Push carts or animal driver vehicles etc. Apart from that diversified nature of drivers and riders are available that makes the situation more hazardous and unpredictable. Unfortunately, the risk of driver crashes are higher enough comparatively to the other type of road users, although it is dependent on the number of vehicles increasing every day in the metropolitan city, Karachi. The traffic crashes are more prominent to the face due to the number of causes including over speeding, overtaking, negligence of drivers and riders, improper road and infrastructure facilities provided, absence of infrastructure facilities, wrong way issues, novice and overage driving, vehicle fault, medical illness etc. All the contributory factors come under the head of three broader divisions namely Human, Road/ Infrastructure and Vehicle contributory factors. It may leads to the lack of two-prong phenomenon of traffic safety which resembles as inappropriate enforcement actions implicated and drivers training and management issues. In this era, there is the emendable need of training of drivers for a specific road user group starting with the severity of particular type. By having the contrast situation, now a days, the vulnerable road user group is the school van drivers, as timely injuries and fatalities are receiving in the couple of months.
Social Research and Development Organization (SRDO) working efficiently in the area of Traffic Management and Road Safety is capable enough to impart in the training programs of school van drivers. As reported by the President SRDO, Mr. Abdul Qadir Bullo, during two months three serious crashes are reported related to school van drivers, included two severe injuries and one on spot fatal accident. According to him, training programs should mandatory not only for school van drivers but for all type of road users. The organization is primarily working in the launch of seminars, as first drivers training program in Pakistan has been organized for various transporters and logistics on 26th September, 2011 while the centre is planning to introduce more training sessions for specific organizations in the future. The respective program was designed in a manner to produce some fruitful and recommended results at the end.
It is the usual practice that the school van drivers are in hurry and not taken into considerations the facts of driving controls. The thing which is more susceptive to the driving is the control on the over loading which in reaction provides the centrifugal force on the road geometry (curve effect, sharp turnings or at Junctions) and ultimately worsening the situation. There should be proper check and balance management and monitoring system by the concerned enforcement agencies. At the preliminary stage of issuance of license, proper training of school van drivers should be the mandatory part that would ultimately correspond to the safe and sound traffic management system of Karachi. It is quite evident that school van driver bears the high responsibility of the assets of our country on his shoulders and they can assure their responsibility in lieu of traffic safety mechanism.
Source: SRDO
