The state transport department has directed the authorities of all districts to check the fitness of pool cars.

The directive comes days after a pool car that lacked a fitness certificate met with an accident in Hooghly’s Polba, leaving several students injured.

Several districts have started the process to make database of vehicles used to ferry students from home to school and back, in a bid to check the health of the vehicles.

“This is the first time we are preparing a database of the pool cars in the districts. We have sent letters to the schools asking them to inform us about details of the pool cars, including the contact numbers of the drivers. We are also trying to find out whether the vehicles have fitness certificates,” a transport department official in Burdwan said.

On Monday, police arranged an awareness programme with 100 pool car drivers in Hooghly’s Chandernagore. Officers said they would conduct a health check-up of the drivers.

“Today, we have conducted an awareness camp in Chandernagore, where 100 pool car drivers were told about the guidelines and asked to check their vehicles,” said Humayun Kabir, the Chandernagore police commissioner.

“We have chalked out a plan to avoid accidents and asked the schools to give us data about pool cars,” said Y. Ratnakara Rao, Hooghly district magistrate.