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Recklessness, at what cost?
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The number of accidents on the city roads is on the rise. Are the MTC buses or careless road-users responsible for this alarming situation? GOUTAM GHOSH surveys the scene.
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IT'S EASY to visualise a road mishap, but it's horrible to see one. You read the news of fatal road accidents with as much concern as a typical minister is of your welfare. The victim is a faceless entity, but for the victim's near and dear ones — it's pain.
You have no option but to use the roads and each day you manage to cling on to your vehicle and your life. A matter of chance really for even if you are careful, others may not be.
Cyclists, two-wheeler riders and pillion riders are knocked down regularly. Trucks ram into light motor vehicles, buses elbow buses or lock horns. A result, you may surmise, of utter lack of concern for other road users.
The causality is much more than that — It is partly visual, and partly attitude.
It is partly visual because if you have driven a go-kart you will realise how heady it is even at 40 kmph. On a jeep you will hardly feel the speed at 100 kmph. So the higher you are perched above the road surface, the more insensitive you will be. Bus and truck drivers sit much higher than a driver of a sedan, so their insensitivity to speed is caused partly by their response to their visual stimuli.
The problem is partly one of attitude too because if bus drivers need to prove their strength they could join a boxing club to slug or get slugged in the ring. Why bully others on relatively puny vehicles just because you have a 100 horses under your feet?
Why is it that buses seem to be killing people everyday? The print media have reported cases of passengers squelched by the buses' rear wheels. The reason: either the bus driver is in a tearing hurry or the conductor blows the whistle before the passengers have got in or off.
As an MTC patron till some years ago, I saw conductors yelling at people to get off or in quickly. And inevitably the whistle was blown before the last one got off or in.
What would old or disabled persons, women or children do? They would jump off or in, and if they are lucky they will suffer minor bruises. Or else they are dead.
The managing director, MTC (Chennai) Ltd, Mr. Swaran Singh wondered aloud, ``Why blame buses alone? Some of our drivers are post-graduates and graduates, not school drop-outs. I have seen trucks driven by teenage cleaners. In 1995 there were 7,836 mishaps involving MTC buses; and till December 31, 2001, there were 2,066 accidents. Consider that with a crew of 4,680 drivers and conductors, we are moving 50 lakh passengers covering 6.5 kms everyday. Our fleet comprises only 1.2 per cent of this city's registered vehicle population.'' His argument seemed to suggest that the deaths were statistically insignificant, given the volume in transit. Need not be so, if they were a result of the crew's carelessness. Given the fleet strength, the accidents per bus in a year are likely to be the highest among heavy vehicles.
If Mr. Singh's argument were taken at face value, you may wonder why there is a panic after a plane crash. After all, the lives lost, as a percentage of the total number of people who fly in a year, will be close to zero. Why then does the DGCA retrieve the black box for decoding and enquiry? Because, the lives lost once cannot be brushed aside as ``fatality statistics."
The discrepancy between the MTC and police data is large. According to the traffic police, MTC buses were involved in 410 accidents in 2001, involving fatalities and grievous injuries. One source of the flaw is as the DCP, Traffic said, ``MTC reaches areas outside the city limits where there could have been more mishaps, or the MTC figure shows all mishaps, major and minor. There could also be cases not reported to us."
The Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Mr. G. Umaganapathy Sastri said, ``We take action in fatal mishap cases. For other offences, we send notices to the MTC.''
Mr. Singh said, ``We take all complaints and police notices seriously. We deduct the fine on the errant drivers from the salary. We have refresher courses for first-time offenders. Killing someone on the road is a serious lapse and we take action."
According to a source in Pallavan House, 56 drivers had been dismissed from service till date and 62 were still under suspension (with 50 per cent pay), some for more than 240 days. ``The punishment tells on the person's pension. So the deterrents are strong,'' the source said.
Given the traffic volume and the shoddy road surface in most areas of the city, accidents would seem to be inevitable. Buses must contend with an increased traffic volume and density. There are 15 lakh vehicles in the city and another 1.3 lakh vehicles, which use the city roads everyday, according to the police. A bus on short trip routes can do 10 single trips a shift, but manage only seven. The urge to do more probably leads to speeding that puts others at risk.
The errant bus drivers are not fined on the spot, as it will lead to traffic knots. In the past the MTC drivers have parked their vehicles all over the road to block the traffic to protest ``police high-handedness.''
The MTC staff union is strong, but what matters to us is their awareness of and respect for the rights of others and the welfare of passengers whom they transport, and whose fares yield the commission they enjoy. The crew is as human as any of us. Their job is unpleasant and demanding. But it is worst for tourist taxis drivers. It is true that youths and many passengers can be irritating at times, but they cannot justify the bus drivers' carelessness.
"I don't think the discipline system of the MTC is severe and robust enough," said a lecturer of a city college. The traffic police officials shared the opinion too.
The traffic police is trying to pull down the mishap graph that seems to be spiralling up and out of sight. We have 171 wireless sets and another 150 will help us monitor all the junctions in the city. Trapping an errant driver will be no problem then,'' said Mr. Sastri. But patrols must prowl around in unmarked cars and two-wheelers, Patrol jeeps now are sometimes found under shady trees, with the personnel either sipping ``steaming tea'' or snoring away their boredom.
Systems to set the problem right are being improved and devised claimed the police and the MTC. But can these smoothen the kinks of our bus drivers and reckless road users of Chennai?
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