CHATURANGA PRADEEP SAMARAWICKRAMA 
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One-armed school van driver arrested
In a move to take on errant school-van drivers, the Cinnamon Gardens police arrested a van driver without an arm who was found transporting school children to Colombo from Kotugoda in Ekala.
His left arm had been severed from the elbow, the police said. Police media spokesman Ajith Rohana said parents should be more cautious about such drivers.
“It is unfortunate that the parents who were travelling in the van had not informed the authorities even though they knew he was without an arm,” he said.
At a discussion with some 1,200 school van drivers, the police suggested that they should be more than 30 years of age and should be in uniform.
Police also suggested that the drivers should have a license which was more than five years old.
The move to regulate school vans comes a week after eight school children were injured when their school van and a bus collided head-on at Mount Lavinia.
The van was driven by a 21-year- old with a temporary driving license.
After the accident there were several calls from various quarters asking that only road-worthy vehicles be used for school transport and that the van drivers be closely monitored.
The National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) is currently working along with the Ministry of Transport and Private Transport Services Ministry to regulate school vans.
Some 224 school children between the ages of one to 19 were killed while 4,133 children were injured in road accidents last year. (Supun Dias)
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