Tamil Nadu - Kancheepuram   

``Adherence to rules will ensure road safety''

Staff Reporter

RTO urges bus drivers to take sufficient rest between trips

KANCHEEPURAM : If all sections of road-users adhere to road rules, accidents can be reduced, participants of a road safety week meeting said here on Friday.

Participating in the meeting organised for bus drivers and conductors by an association of private bus and mini-bus operators, the speakers said better results could be achieved only if other road-users were also motivated to follow safety measures.

On behalf of the participants, Basker of Kancheepuram regretted that mofussil bus drivers were blamed even for the mistakes committed by the drivers of other vehicles.

For instance, the driver of a bus involved in an accident near Cheyyar recently was charged under Section 304A even though the fault lay with a car driver. The car rammed the bus, which was on the extreme left.

Further, encroachments and haphazard vehicle parking on small and congested roads made things difficult for the mofussil bus drivers, who were expected to maintain their timing. Overcrowding was another issue that bothered bus crew.

"If we allow more passengers to board the vehicle you [law enforcing authorities] pounce on us. If we refuse, they [commuters] threaten us with dire consequences. Misconception of bus drivers alone flout road rules should be dispelled with," he said.

Expressing similar views, an association office-bearer objected to the way bus drivers involved in accidents were treated by police. Addressing the participants, Regional Transport Officer Abdul Sattar urged drivers to take sufficient rest between trips.

Over-speeding, no-entry violations and failure to dip headlamps were some of the causes of accidents, he said, while urging drivers not to drive when tired. Pointing out that road transport remained a major transportation mode for the general public, Motor Vehicle Inspector Sampath asked bus drivers not to lose their concentration and keep to the left of the road.

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``Adherence to rules will ensure road safety''

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