VIJAYAWADA: As many as 521 road accidents, involving APSRTC buses, have been recorded across the State between April 1 and August 31. These mishaps have killed 189 and injured 186 persons.
With the figure reaching an alarmingly high rate, APSRTC Vice Chairman and Managing Director NV Surendra Babu has directed the officials concerned to conduct awareness sessions for drivers to achieve zero accident rate.
In the first phase, 44 drivers, who were involved in accidents in August, will be given intensive training on road engineering. They will be told about the impact of such accidents on families of the victims.
The training session is scheduled to be held on September 18 at RTC House in Vijayawada.
Speaking to TNIE, APSRTC Chief Traffic Manager (CTM) KS Brahmananda Reddy said only one per cent of RTC buses are involved in road accidents and steps are being initiated to bring it further down.
In a study conducted by higher officials of the Corporation, 60 per cent of the victims of bus-related accidents are two-wheeler commuters and pedestrians. “Many riders, without helmets, fail to judge the speed of buses and overtake them without proper indication,” the chief traffic manager said.
The CTM informed the Corporation has evolved an action plan to reduce accidents, involving RTC buses, by organising awareness programmes for drivers; short videos will be played in the vehicles and bus terminals across the State.
Recently, a directive was passed by the managing director to conduct breath analyser test for drivers before they attend to their duties. If any bus driver is found to be flouting the RTC’s instructions, they will be restrained from continuing their duties, he added. Asked about the officials’ attentiveness in organising the awareness sessions for drivers, Reddy said they have already been organising awareness campaigns across the State for the past few months in a phased manner. Moreover, the Corporation has also been operating bus services on ghat roads of Tirumala and Srisailam.