Mangalore : RTO Mallikarjuna convened a meeting of heads of various schools in Mangalore on May 28, Tuesday in view of the school re-opening within a few days and in order to ensure the safety of children travelling in school vehicles.

Addressing the meeting, the RTO said the school vehicles should be painted in highway yellow colour, while the name ‘School vehicle’ should be painted in black on all four sides. He said vehicles failing to follow the rule will face cancellation of licence, while schools concerned will be held responsible for any violation.

He said the vehicles can carry only the prescribed number of students as per the permit and added the vehicles should have first aid box, fire extinguishers and speed controllers. It should also have been certified that the vehicle is in good condition, he added

There should be space beneath the seats to keep the bags of the students, the RTO said adding  even the phone number and names of the schools should be mentioned in the vehicle.

The drivers should have at least five years of driving experience, he said  adding even private vehicles like autorickshaws will have  to follow rules. Autos cannot carry more than six students, he said.

Additional DC Dayanand Traffic CP Subrahmanya, Block Education officer Moses Jayashekhar and other officials were present at the meeting.