Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Traffic Police have found that 55,995 school bus drivers engaged by educational institutions were using mobile phones while transporting students, officials disclosed during a coordination meeting on student road safety held at Ravindra Bharathi on Friday, June 19.

The meeting, titled “Safety for School Children,” brought together school managements, traffic police personnel and senior government officials to discuss growing concerns over road accidents involving schoolchildren.

Officials also revealed that 94 per cent of children travelling as pillion riders on two-wheelers do not wear helmets, despite the requirement being mandatory under the Motor Vehicles Act.

Presenting accident data, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Joel Davis said Hyderabad recorded 1,604 road accidents between January 1 and May 31 this year, including 141 fatal accidents. He said nearly 7,500 people lose their lives in road accidents every year in Telangana, with children accounting for a significant share of the casualties. Seven children died in road accidents in the city between January and May 2026, with several cases linked to underage driving and the non-use of helmets.

Davis urged schools to maintain detailed records of students’ modes of transport, including private vehicles and autorickshaws, and not limit monitoring to school bus users alone. School managements should not limit themselves to tracking students who use school buses, he said, adding that they should also maintain a database of children using private transportation and share the information with authorities when required.

A screening of 1,014 school bus drivers found vision-related issues in 316 of them, raising fresh concerns about driver fitness and the safety of children commuting to and from school.

School representatives raised concerns about traffic congestion around educational institutions. A representative from Jubilee Hills Public School requested one-way traffic regulation during peak hours, citing severe congestion at multiple schools in the area during drop-off and pick-up times. Mangu Jyothi of Success School flagged rash driving near her school and sought increased police deployment in vulnerable areas.

A government school headmaster pointed to monsoon-related disruptions caused by autorickshaws, noting that although school ends at 4 pm, students often reach home only by 7 pm or 8 pm during heavy rains, and suggested that primary school students be allowed to leave earlier during the monsoon season.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said awareness campaigns alone would not bring change and that school managements, parents and students must implement the recommendations discussed at the meeting. He added that action would be taken against school bus drivers found driving under the influence of alcohol.

Sajjanar also flagged a rise in children’s involvement in offences related to drugs, underage driving and harassment of women, and called on schools and parents to work together to instil a sense of responsibility and discipline in children. A total of 2,539 cases of underage driving were booked between January 1 and May 31 this year.

The commissioner felicitated representatives of schools that have appointed traffic marshals to promote road safety awareness around school premises.

GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan raised concerns about parents parking vehicles on roads while waiting to pick up their children, and said the civic body would work closely with stakeholders to make Hyderabad a safer city for children.

During enforcement drives, a school bus driver was caught driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol concentration of more than 300, raising serious concerns about the safety of children travelling in school buses.