It's a lesson learnt, say BMTC drivers

Fear of being watched and getting fined forces bus drivers to drive in the proper lane

Fear of being watched and getting fined forces bus drivers to drive in the proper lane

If the thought of unruly Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) drivers forced you to miss your bus, here's good news for you. According to the statistics provided by the city's Traffic Management Centre (TMC), BMTC bus drivers are mending their ways.

Back to basics: Since Jan 2009, TMC officials have trained around 5,300 BMTC drivers on driving safely, following traffic norms. File pic

Last year, the fine collected from them for violating traffic rules amounted to a whoping Rs 37 lakh. However, till May this year, the fine amountu00a0 was a mere Rs 5 lakh. The substantial drop in fine amount can be attributed to training programmes that are run by the traffic police at the TMC.

Training time
R Sudhir, sub-inspector (Traffic) at the TMC, said, "The erroneous drivers are sent to us for training. Since January 2009, we have trained around 5,300 BMTC drivers on driving safely, following traffic norms and in traffic management." He added that after the training session, cases of traffic violations involving BMTC drivers have come down drastically.

SA Pasha, ACP of traffic training institute, said, "We show drivers the accidents recorded by our surveillance cameras and traffic violations that they have committed. After such sessions, they understand where they have gone wrong and try to rectify their mistakes."

On the right track
KS Vishwanath, chief traffic manager (Operations), BMTC, said, "Earlier, our drivers refused to admit their mistakes. But now, they know that everything is being watched and recorded at the TMC. They don't jump signals even if there's no traffic cop around." What has scared drivers the most is the fact that the fine for violating traffic rules is deducted from their salaries.

B Muniraju, a BMTC driver, said, "We have seen what mistakes we usually commit and will try to ensure that they aren't repeated. It was a much-needed programme and we thank the traffic police for starting it. We are more cautious now, as we know that we are being watched."