The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Reckless driving by call centre drivers poses threat to others

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Sunday, Sep 14, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Reckless driving by call centre drivers poses threat to others

Petlee Peter

Drivers race to finish more shifts
for more money
Some indulge in bets on who would reach destination faster

Chennai: Six months ago, 16-year-old V. Nagaraj, a newspaper boy, was knocked down on Choolaimedu High Road at 6 a.m. by a speeding cab that was transporting call centre employees. He suffered a broken leg, from which he recovered two months later.

The teenager is one of the victims of reckless driving on city roads by cab drivers engaged by call centres and BPO companies.

Many of these drivers behind the wheels are proving to be a safety hazard to pedestrians and other road-users, particularly two-wheeler riders. They allegedly resort to overspeeding, as their remuneration directly depends on the number of trips they undertake every day.

Police sources say there is a steady rise in the number of road accidents involving BPO and call centre drivers, mainly at night. These drivers, who are mostly on contract, are employed by the companies at the rate of Rs.4.50 per km (for non-BPO customers it is Rs.5.50).

Driver D.Venkatesan, who resigned his job as a BPO cab driver in March, said he took the decision in view of the hectic schedules and prolonged driving hours. “In the beginning of every month, each driver is given the entire month’s schedule, which mentions the employees’ location and time and deadline of the pick-up for each batch. Extra shifts mean extra cash. The drivers race to finish shifts so that they can do more shifts and earn some extra money,” Venkatesan says. He adds that the cab drivers, who do not meet the time schedule, after being excused on a couple of occasions, are imposed a fine of Rs.650 by some of the companies. On an average, a driver covers upto 450 kilometres per day.

The drivers are, therefore, caught between the lure of earning a few more rupees and the fear of having to pay the fine.

Time offices functioning in most companies monitor the in-time and out-time of each driver, with some even installing detection devices and providing walkie-talkies to the drivers. A few thrill-seekers among the cab drivers also indulge in petty bets on who would reach the destination faster than the other.

A driver with an ITES company in Perungudi, on conditions of anonymity, says that the bets are the only break from monotony in an otherwise dull job. “Apart from a race for the bucks, we often come across our counterparts from other companies in the same lane and it ends up in an unexpected race, with the passengers in the cab also sometimes egging the drivers to speed up,” he adds.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sunil Kumar says: “We are aware of speeding by cab drivers, especially during night hours. We are planning to take the matter to the IT sector and educate the drivers on aspects of road safety. It has come to our notice that most cab drivers are on duty for long hours, which is not safe for them, their passengers, as well as others on the road. We have booked many in this regard and heavy penalties have been imposed on them.”

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