Free run: ‘Speeding buses have no concern for small vehicles’

KOCHI: An accident happens every other day in the city and its rural limits due to the disregard the private bus drivers have for the traffic rules. To beat other buses in their race to get commuters, bus drivers often throw lane rules to the wind, turn a blind eye towards traffic signals and even use walkways meant for pedestrian use as shortcuts.

The recent accidents show that the drive launched by the city police to curb rash driving by private buses is yet to bear fruit. “The private buses have turned the city roads into a bullfight arena,” said Unnikrishnan, a bank officer.

“They have no concern for smaller vehicles and seem bent on speeding to the next stop. They dash up close to other vehicles, sometimes with only inches to spare,” he said. Though lane rules have been enforced in the city, they apparently don’t seem to apply to private buses, he said. “It is like they own the roads. Also, the increase in the number of vehicles on the roads has made the situation worse,” he said.  
According to Stephen T, a private bus conductor, nearly three-fourth of the road accidents happening in the city are due to the competition between the private buses to get more passengers.

“Since the number of vehicles on road has increased, traffic snarl-ups have become a common feature in the city. This often eats into the running time of the buses. The buses are given a time slot and they have to reach the said stops within the time stipulated. However, the traffic snarl-ups lead to delay and finally, more than two buses plying on the same route reach a stop at the same time,” he said. “The bus crew then go into competitive mode since the number of passengers to be shared between the services is less.

“They try to overtake each other, block the competitor or even take shortcuts. However, such actions not only endanger them but also the pedestrians and those driving other vehicles,” he said.

(With inputs from Sonal Chacko, Aakash Hari,Rajat Sebastian, Rajeena Abraham and Amarnath)