RAWALPINDI: The City Traffic Police Murree have made the installation of fire extinguishers in all school vehicles and regular inspections of school vans mandatory under new standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued to ensure the safe transportation of children.
These decisions were taken at a meeting on Tuesday chaired by Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Murree Syed Munir Ahmed Hashmi.
The assistant commissioner Murree, DSP Headquarters Malik Azmat, teachers from across the district, members of the business community and transporters providing pick-and-drop services to schoolchildren attended the meeting.
A police spokesman said the main objective of the meeting was to ensure the safe transportation of schoolchildren, prevent overloading and speeding in school transport, and strengthen safety measures in vehicles.
He said important decisions had been taken to protect the lives of children and clear SOPs had been formulated for school transport.
The meeting decided that the number of children travelling in school vehicles would not exceed the prescribed limits and that a zero-tolerance policy would be adopted against overcharging.
According to the SOPs, a maximum of 12 primary-level children may travel in a carry van or pickup, 10 children at the middle-school level and eight children above the middle-school level. Vehicles will not be allowed to carry children beyond the prescribed limits, and legal action will be taken against violators.
The meeting decided to adopt a zero-tolerance policy against overloading and speeding. It also emphasised a complete ban on carrying petrol in open containers in school transport and smoking while driving.
Furthermore, installing a fire extinguisher in every school vehicle was made mandatory to ensure that immediate safety measures could be taken in an emergency.
The meeting was informed that around 40 school vehicles were included in the green list and that their fitness certificates, route permits and other necessary documents would be checked.
For this purpose, teams from Traffic Police Murree and Kotli Sattian will conduct regular inspections of school transport two to three days a week to ensure vehicle safety and compliance with legal requirements.
CTO Murree Syed Munir Ahmed Hashmi and DSP Headquarters Malik Azmat reiterated that the safety of schoolchildren was the top priority and that no negligence or carelessness would be tolerated.
All school administrations and transporters were directed to ensure full compliance with the issued SOPs.
The City Traffic Police Murree has made it clear that strict legal action will be taken against those violating the prescribed code of conduct without discrimination, the spokesman said.
Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2026
