Traffic police step up drive against reckless mid-road halts by private buses in Kerala’s Kozhikode
Citing concerns over commuter safety, the traffic police have intensified inspections in Kozhikode city in Kerala against private buses that stop in the middle of
Citing concerns over commuter safety, the traffic police have intensified inspections in Kozhikode city in Kerala against private buses that stop in the middle of roads to pick up or drop passengers instead of using designated bus bays and stops. Senior police officials said the road enforcement would be stepped up across the city to curb the unhealthy and illegal practice, which they said disrupts traffic and poses safety risks to road users. As part of the initial phase, the focus will be on creating awareness among bus drivers and conductors. The police will impose spot fines on those found violating traffic rules apart from organising awareness sessions for bus crew.
A Traffic Enforcement Inspector said criminal cases would be registered and vehicles impounded if the violations continued ignoring repeated warnings. Awareness sessions For the booked persons, the awareness sessions will be held at the Edappal Motor Vehicle Training Centre on Wednesdays and Saturdays. According to enforcement squad members, the programmes are mainly aimed at bus drivers and conductors as bus owners are often unaware of traffic violations committed by their employees. Many a time, the vehicle owners are being forced to pay fines for offences committed by their operating staff. The sessions at the training centre are intended to improve compliance with traffic rules among bus crew, they added.
Measures have also been taken to deploy special surveillance teams at major junctions and other congested locations during the peak hours of traffic in the morning and evening, when schoolchildren and office-goers make use of public transport at its full strength. The latest drive supervised by the senior police officers follows flooding complaints from the public, mainly students and working professionals, about private buses stopping in the middle of roads to pick up and drop passengers unmindful of the moving traffic bottlenecks. The police said the practice was found obstructing the natural flow of vehicles and increases the risk of freak accidents, prompting stricter enforcement across the city.
“For several years, some private bus operators have been continuing it as a regular practice unmindful of the trouble it creates for other road users. Frequency of such reckless stops has also increased on Kozhikode-Kannur and Kozhikode-Wayanad routes,” said a Home Guard who recently took up the issue with the local police. He also said that the bus employees are cold-shouldering the traffic wardens’ instructions citing other issues related to punching and road repair works.
The BriefWire