THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If you think that the police are only interested in penalising motorists who do not wear a helmet or a seat belt, you are mistaken. The drivers of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), whom we think are invulnerable to the law, are also under the police scanner. Concerned over the alarming rise in the toll of accidents caused by the public service vehicles of the State Road Transport Corporation, the City Police have decided to hold awareness classes for the KSRTC drivers servicing in the city, to brush up their lessons on road rules and safety regulations. The first phase of the class will be held at the KSRTC depot at East Fort on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Drivers of the city depots, including East Fort, Thampanoor, Vikas Bhavan and Pappanamcode, are expected to attend the class, which is being organised in association with the Transport Department. Even though awareness classes of the Transport Department are a routine affair, it is the first time ever that the City Police have taken up such an initiative. The figures they have on the toll caused by KSRTC buses in the city justify their initiative. According to the figures available with the City Police, till May this year, 44 accident cases involving KSRTC buses were reported in the city, in which eight people died. The toll was 23 deaths out of 120 accidents in the year 2010 and 14 deaths in 109 mishaps, the year before. K Raju, Assistant Commissioner, Traffic North, says the figures during the first five months of the year suggest no sign of dip in the graph, following which the City Police decided on the awareness class. ‘’KSRTC drivers are no less than any ordinary motorist in violating rules. Every day, an average of 250 KSRTC buses are captured by our surveillance cameras for violating speed limits,’’ the Assistant Commissioner revealed. He also said that such drivers are not spared by the police and they are regularly penalised. The awareness class will give emphasis to various aspects such as adhering to road rules and legal consequences that a driver might invite for not abiding by the law. An expert session on stress management will also be incorporated in the class, taking into account the complaint of the drivers that most of the accidents were caused out of overwork.
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