SHIMOGA: Soon, drivers of four-wheelers in the district may need to keep a family photo in front of their seat.
The idea is that drivers may tend to drive cautiously when they have a family photo in front of them.
This is one of the ideas suggested by the Shimoga RTO Department to reduce road accidents. The department came up with ideas following district in-charge secretary B Ramamurthy’s directive at a review meet.
Other ideas include setting up surveillance cameras in all black spots, that is accident zones in the city; installing Global Positioning System (GPS) devices in all public vehicles; and educating those appearing for their driving test. The department has identified 12 points in the city and four points on the Shimoga-Bhadravati Road to put up surveillance cameras.
“With the increase in the number of road accidents in the city and on the Shimoga-Bhadravati stretch, we have planned to set up surveillance cameras to identify speeding drivers and penalise them,” said Abdul Samad, RTO.
Asked about the existing speed breakers between Shimoga and Bhadravati, Samad said, “There is a need for scientific speed breakers as they will protect the vehicle and check its speed. The white paint on the speed breakers will alert drivers and the rumble strips (the line of grooves which produce sound and vibration) will caution them about the existence of speed breakers.”
A final decision on the department’s ideas is expected soon.
The department has suggested installation of GPS in goods vehicles, school buses, KSRTC and private buses, lorries and taxis. Vehicles with GPS will be tracked by the RTO officials, the city police and the deputy commissioner’s office.
“Villagers often complain that buses don’t stop in their villages though there are designated stops. Now, GPS will help us check if the bus operator is covering all the destinations marked in the route,” said Samad.
The price of each GPS system is about `6,000 and the cost has to be borne by vehicle owners. A final decision on the proposal is yet to be taken.