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Cops find a large number of BEST bus drivers breaking traffic rules

MUMBAI: A crackdown by the Mumbai traffic police on early morning lawbreakers has revealed that around 20% of the motorists violating the rules are BEST bus drivers, traffic police sources said.

The traffic police have been monitoring intersections across the city for two hours every morning, from 6 am to 8 am, for the past seven months. The bid to check reckless driving in the early hours has revealed that around 7,200 of the 36,000 violators booked during the campaign were BEST bus drivers. Common violations included jumping signals, cutting lanes and illegal parking.

The traffic cops began the early morning campaign after receiving several complaints of rash diving during that time. BEST bus drivers were accused of jumping signals routinely. On Wednesday morning alone, the traffic police penalised 15 BEST drivers at Worli Naka for jumping the red light.

"We began this campaign as we realised that motorists have been jumping signals in the early morning because there is very little traffic on the roads. But we were shocked to find that BEST bus drivers were among the major offenders. We will now definitely crack down on BEST bus drivers if they violate traffic rules and regulations,'' said deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Harish Baijal.

In fact, data procured under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by activist Chetan Kothari shows that the number of accidents involving BEST buses that ended in fatalities rose last fiscal. During 2007-08 there were 40 accidents involving fatalities, while in just nine months, April 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008, there were 42 accidents.

Traffic police officials said that after they penalise BEST drivers they confiscate the licences. The drivers must collect the licences after paying a fine at the local traffic chowky. "We also send a report on the offence to the BEST office,'' Baijal said.

Senior BEST officials said they have been cracking the whip on errant drivers. "Habitual offenders are warned and a negative remark enters their service record . We also summarily dismiss a driver if his recklessness causes a fatality,'' said BEST general manager Uttam Khobragade.

He said that many accidents involving buses are not the fault of the BEST driver. "There are many cases where a two-wheeler or three-wheeler rams into the bus from the rear. There are also cases where pedestrians cross without looking left or right. The road sense in this city is just average and this adds to the congestion during peak hours,'' Khobragade said.

But Baijal said BEST drivers should use the rear-view mirrors to help minimise accidents.

TOI, May 14, 09