44 school buses fail fitness test

Kochi: Ahead of school reopening, several school buses that were brought to motor vehicles department (MVD) for inspection in Kochi failed the fitness test. MVD officials said that of 60 school buses, 44 failed in the inspections.While the buses were cleared during initial examinations held at the Seaport-Airport Road test ground. The situation changed when Ernakulam RTO K R Suresh took the driver's seat. "The first stage of inspections involved stationary checks covering tyres, wipers, headlights, doors, GPS and fire safety systems. The vehicles also appeared flawless as they had fresh paint, polished bodies and clean paperwork," said an MVD official.As part of the final clearance, RTO himself drove the vehicles. When he noticed major mechanical issues in the first few vehicles, he mandated that every single bus undergo a test drive. This operational check exposed technical flaws, and MVD officials rejected fitness certificates for those buses on the spot.The 16 vehicles that met every standard were marked with MVD safety stickers. The remaining 44 buses were ordered to resolve mechanical issues. MVD has scheduled a second phase of inspections for Saturday. TNN