Human errors cause of 80% bus mishaps

S RTC MD AK Khan seeks solutions for bus accidents

S Overspeeding stated to be main factor for mishaps

Hyderabad: About 80 per cent of the bus accidents are due to human errors, mainly the negligence of drivers, said the officials of AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC).

The Corporation on Tuesday conducted a state-level one-day workshop for mechanical engineers on ‘Accident Prevention and Road Safety Management’ to strengthen the safety measures in buses, especially 2,000 high-end and 400 AC buses that are prone to accidents.

The workshop was conducted in consequent to Volvo bus incident in Mahabubnagar that killed 45 passengers.

Over 150 mechanical engineers participated in the programme which included group discussion and presentation on technical aspects by the representatives of bus manufactures - Volvo, Mercedes Benz, Ashok Leyland. The drivers and the supervisors of their respective regions would be given training on the importance of the road safety by the participants at the workshop.

RTC Managing Director and Vice-Chairman A K Khan called upon the participants to come up with various solutions to prevent bus accidents and also identify manufacturing faults in the buses.

Pointing out the negligence of the RTC drivers despite proper training, he said most drivers were found to be overspeeding, whenever they found good roads; they drive buses at 140-170 kmph.

“It is then that the bus meets with accidents at the slightest of culverts,” he said.

RTC Commissioner and chief guest at the workshop, G Ananta Ramu, felt that the drivers need to be more self-disciplined and behave responsibly.

“In a survey, it was revealed that the alternate drivers in long journey buses, both RTC and private buses, tend to sleep in the luggage space in the rear side, which is very dangerous. They were also found to tamper with electricity circuit and lighting system within the buses, which eventually lead to fire accident in the buses,” he said.