500 buses to ease overcrowding

Kuldeep Chauhan 
Tribune News Service
Shimla, August 2

Learning lessons from Banjar and Nurpur bus accidents, the Transport Department today announced that it would imtroduce 500 new buses in three months in the state. 

  “The department will also launch a statewide road safety campaign to promote culture of safe driving from August 4 from the Ridge at Shimla. An attempt will be made to bring down the  road fatality rate,” said transport officials  here. 

“We have identified 229 routes which will be notified soon and in three months, we will operate 500 buses on all such routes, which face problem of overloading,” said Capt JM Pathania, Commissioner, Transport.   

“Under the campaign bus, truck and taxi drivers and the public will be educated to adopt safe driving habits,” Pathania said, unveiling the road safety plan.  “We have worked on a multi-pronged strategy. Every year, on an average, 3,000 accidents take place. In these mishaps, the death toll on an average is 1,200 persons, the highest in the country,” he added.

A data analysis reveals that 95.4 per cent accidents are caused by human error. For this, six factors responsible are: rash and drunken driving, overspeeding, driving without seat belts and helmets and use of mobile phone while driving.  

The corporation has set up a road safety cell involving transport, police, PWD and Heath Department teams. “In the first three months, we will focus on creating awareness, not challaning traffic violators,” he said. 

Commuters will be motivated through multimedia, FM radio, posters, songs and a series of lectures in schools and colleges. Master trainers will be involved for educating drivers.

The Transport Department and PWD will lay “zebra crossings”  at key junctions and install traffic lights in cities or towns. The PWD will work on 

laying crash barriers along the vulnerable road stretches for which PWD is  getting Rs 50 crore every from the Centre.

To ensure fitness of buses, repair shops will be set up to address the problem of mechanical failures. “We will introduce body code for buses which pass the mandatory crash test in a year,” he added.      The campaign will be a continuous process throughout the state by DCs. They will involve schools, colleges, NGOs, mahila mandals and yuvak mandals, panchayats. In the second leg of the campaign, the police and RTOs will focus on challaning offenders who overspeed, involve in rash or drunken driving and driving without seat belt. 

Safety saves

• The Transport Dept, PWD will lay zebra crossings at key junctions
• Install traffic lights in cities or towns
• The PWD will work on laying crash barriers on vulnerable stretches
• Commuters will be motivated through multimedia, FM radio, posters, songs and a series of lectures
• Master trainers will be involved for educating drivers

The Reason

• Every year, on an average, 3,000 accidents take place in state 
• The death toll on an average is 1,200 persons, the highest in the country
• A data analysis reveals that 95.4 per cent accidents are caused by human error

Factors responsible are: rash and drunken driving, overspeeding, driving without seat belts and helmets and use of mobile phone while driving.