Hyderabad School Zones Lack Basic Safety: 80% Missing Warning Boards, 128 Minors Hurt

A safety audit of school zones across Hyderabad has revealed widespread gaps in infrastructure meant to protect children, as the city recorded 1,604 road accidents, including 141 fatal accidents, involving 128 minors in the first five months of 2026.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) D. Joel Davis presented the findings at a joint stakeholder meeting on school student road safety organised by the Hyderabad Traffic Police at Ravindra Bharathi on Friday (June 19). The meeting brought together representatives of school managements, the Transport department, GHMC, School Education department, UNICEF, and other agencies to discuss measures aimed at making daily school commutes safer.

While the accident figures showed the risks faced by children on city roads, the safety audit revealed that many schools continue to operate in environments lacking basic traffic management measures. According to the assessment, 80% of schools surveyed did not have school-zone warning boards, while 90% lacked visible speed-limit signage. Seven out of 10 schools had no zebra crossings on connecting roads, and a similar proportion were without speed-calming measures near their gates.

Further, 70% of schools lacked designated pick-up and drop-off zones, 60% had no footpaths, and another 20% had footpaths considered too narrow for safe pedestrian movement. Four out of five schools had no formal incident-reporting mechanism for safety issues, while none of the schools assessed had traffic enforcement cameras.

Calling upon the managements of the educational institutions to get involved in managing traffic around their campuses, the officials advised schools to maintain databases of students’ travel patterns, deploy trained traffic marshals during opening and closing hours, install CCTV cameras, and improve pedestrian infrastructure around their premises.

Addressing the gathering, Hyderabad Police Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar said the city is home to more than 12 lakh students studying in nearly 3,500 to 3,800 schools, making student safety a shared responsibility.

Transport Commissioner K. Ilambarithi said Telangana records nearly 7,000 road accident deaths every year and stressed the importance of strengthening safety measures for children. He noted that the State has around 25,600 registered educational institution buses that are required to comply with safety and fitness regulations.

Data presented by the traffic police showed that 94% of children involved in fatal motorcycle crashes were not wearing helmets. Officials also pointed to low awareness of child restraint systems, noting that a majority of parents remain unfamiliar with their use despite evidence showing their effectiveness in reducing fatalities.

Police reiterated that auto-rickshaws transporting schoolchildren should carry no more than six children and urged school managements to sensitise parents about the risks associated with overcrowded vehicles.