Driving simulator on hold, CM too busy to unveil it

Three days after Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan kicked off the Road Safety fortnight with a lot of promise and stressed on the need for gadgets like the state-of-the-art simulator meant to train bus, truck and heavy vehicle drivers - the Rs 25-lakh simulator lies ignored at Churchgate.

Gathering dust: The simulator at WIAA office, Churchgate. File Pic

The chief minister was supposed to inaugurate the gadget during the ceremony, but nothing of the sort happened.u00a0"The CM had other meetings so the unveiling got postponed. It is expected to take place in the coming week," said an official from Western India Automobile Association (WIAA), which has brought the simulator.

According to sources, the training of the BEST bus drivers was supposed to begin soon after the inauguration. u00a0The delay in the inauguration and subsequent trainings shows the lack of seriousness of the state government regarding safety issues.u00a0

Earlier, the state leaders expressed their displeasure over the lack of safety measures followed by those driving on the roads.u00a0According to statistics, nearly 13,000 have been killed and 38,000 injured in road accidents in 2012. u00a0

Features
>> Is fitted with a video projector above its hood.
>>u00a0Displays the nature of roads and other conditions like turnings, steep curves, traffic signals, wet roads, obstructions like people, bumps, potholes, dense traffic among others.u00a0