The city has witnessed a troubling rise in road accidents involving schoolchildren recently, resulting in the tragic deaths of four kids aged between nine and 12 in just 20 days, while one nursery school student was injured. In all fatalities, the children were crushed by buses and dumpers. All drivers in these cases have been booked for rash and negligent driving. Parents have demanded that the police take serious steps to ban heavy vehicles around school premises, especially during school hours.
 
Additional Commissioner of Traffic Police, M Ramkumar, said, “We have been taking action against heavy vehicles from time to time. They are allowed in city limits only between 7 am and 10 am in south Mumbai, and in other parts of the city, these vehicles are not allowed between 7 am and 11 am and 4 pm and 11 pm.”

According to the police, another major issue with heavy vehicles is their blind spot on the left side, where most accidents occur. “When these vehicles take a left turn or reverse, the driver has limited visibility, leading to accidents,” Ramkumar explained. “We have been raising awareness among school students on this and conducting classes for them. They are educated and made part of our Road Safety Patrol (RSP), and we also issue them certificates upon completion of the course,” he added, “this education is life-saving for pedestrians as well as smaller vehicles when they drive close to buses, dumpers, and trucks.”