THE heartrending news of 16 schoolchildren dying in a fireball in a school van is a wake-up call to all the echelons of the government; be it caretaker or regular government that our state is unravelling fast at the seams.

How could children be entrusted to a driver getting Rs6,000 a month, as his salary is lower than than that of an unskilled labourer who gets Rs7,000 a month.

The parents also have to share the blame as to why they entrusted their wards to a driver in a faulty van who did not even have a valid driving licence with him at that moment as, according to the statement, the licence was sent to Azad Kashmir for renewal.

The warnings given by students over smell of leaking petrol failed to draw the attention of careless driver who appeared to be incompetent as he was hired for just Rs6,000 a month.

It is not possible to get a driver at such a dirt cheap price these days. The government authorities as usual would show a spurt in their activities to ban CNG or loose petrol in bottles but who is going to implement it with our law-enforcement agencies steeped in corrupt practices. Who would enforce state supervision over vehicular inspection of which lack thereof resulted in this horrible accident?

DR M. YAQOOB BHATTI Lahore

Some suggestions THE May 24 deadly and tragic Gujrat school van accident, in which 16 innocent children and a teacher were burnt to death alive, should be an eye-opener for all concerned.

The driver’s employers will make sure that nothing more is done than shedding a few crocodile tears.

The traffic police, road fitness inspectors, licence and permit issuing authorities and all senior officials must give top priority to eliminate all loopholes and factors leading to such horrendous accidents.

There will be some hue and cry for a few days and then we return to square one, almost as if by default. Unfortunately, it is just another accident except for those who lost their dear ones.

The majority of our public transport vehicles, buses, vans, tanker, dumpers, trailers, etc., prowling dangerously on our roads in broad daylight, is not truly worthy of being on roads.

There is adequate legislation and plenty of departments to impose traffic laws strictly and effectively -– all paid for heavily by taxpayers.

But who cares? It is a free country and one can get away with murder of innocent people without much fear.

A few simple suggestions which if honestly and strictly implemented can help reduce frequency of such deadly recurrences.

Mandatory motor vehicle driving, training and licencing systems still need overhauls and more strict punitive measures. The fitness/roadworthiness certificate system must be made more effective and foolproof to keep unfit vehicles strictly off roads.

A high school certificate, duly verified by the respective education boards, must be made mandatory for LTV and HTL licences. Last but not least, for identification and preventing escape of drivers responsible for fatal accidents in the crowds, it should be made compulsory for LTV and HTV drivers to wear an approved uniform of a very distinct, say bright orange/red colour.

Licences must be suspended on first violation and cancelled on repetition and at causing fatal accidents.

This will help identify the vehicle driver in a crowd and also help make reckless drivers conscious that they will not be easily able to camouflage themselves in a mob around the accident site and must avoid bad driving habits and practices.

As said earlier, there are more than enough rules in the books already. They only need to be honestly and effectively implemented to curb the menace of negligent, dangerous and deadly driving.

Will anyone responsible come forward to save more loss of innocent lives on roads?

IJTABA HUSAIN ZAIDI Karachi