Bus drivers and conductors will have to shift victims of a road accident “to the nearest emergency medical/trauma care facility” and make arrangements to save lives “through immediate triage” of passengers “who are in imminent danger”, guidelines issued by the transport department on Friday said.

The guidelines also state that the driver and conductor of a bus involved in anaccident must inform the owner about the incident and alert police by calling 100or 1093.

Drivers and conductors must attend a refresher course once every three years. The course certificate must besubmitted with the application for the renewal of thelicences of the drivers and conductors and also a vehicle’s permit.

The guidelines state that photocopies of the licences of the driver and the conductor must be displayed prominently “inside the vehicle”.

The six-page guidelines, signed by transport secretary Saumitra Mohan, were issued weeks after chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her anguish over road accidents following the death of an 11-year-old boy in Salt Lake on November 12.

Ayush Paik, a Class IV student, was returning home from school on his mother’s scooter when a bus that was allegedly trying to overtake another hit the two-wheeler’s handlebar at Salt Lake’s gate number 2 intersection.

Ayush’s mother Nur Jahan said the child passed away while they were rushing him from one hospital to another for treatment.

The guidelines, titled“Emergency protocols to be followed in case of an accident”, state that a bus driver or conductor must pull over safely after an accidentand “retreat to a safe location (e.g. police station, nearest hospital, or other suitable place) as per the kind ofemergency”.

The guidelines list several measures as part of an emergency protocol after an accident. Some of them are:

• 1. The operating crew should help in evacuating passengers safely during an emergency.
• 2. The driver, conductorand crew must be familiar with using emergency kits including first aid kits and fire extinguishers.
• 3. The priority for a bus driver and a conductor after an accident would be to protect life over property
• 4. Warning signage to be put up at the accident site to help notify traffic in both directions about the accident. If no proper signage is available, the driver or conductor of thebus involved in the accident would have to find alternative means to warn traffic about the accident.
• 5. The driver and conductor have to coordinate with the police and other government representatives for any assistance that may be required.
• 6. The driver or conductor has to lodge an FIR if the accident is caused by the other party’s wilful negligence.

Copies of the guidelines have been circulated to bus and minibus owners and the police commissionerates and police districts across the state.

“Any infraction or non-compliance with the statutory provisions and stipulated norms... shall result in impounding and subsequent cancellation of driving and conductor licence, vehicle permit, (certificate of) registration and fitness certificate,” the guidelines say.

Senior transport department officials said the state government would soon release a monitoring app that all drivers have to download on their phones. Each vehicle will be assigned a unique QR code before the day’s first trip.

Once the app is scanned, the app will help track locations in real-time and monitor compliance, officials said.

“The guidelines have been drawn up in consultation with police and others, including bus unions and owners. The transport department and the police will carry out inspections to see whether the guidelines are being adhered to,” an official in the transport department said.