BENGALURU: In a step aimed at reducing accidents, all Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus drivers will have to mandatorily undergo breathalyser tests at depots and will be allowed to drive only after they pass. The decision was taken after a meeting, chaired by KSRTC MD Anbu Kumar, was conducted recently to look for solutions to reducing accidents.
Along with rash driving and flouting of traffic rules, KSRTC drivers operating under the influence of alcohol is said to be one of the reasons for accidents involving buses. The bus corporation launched digital breath analysers to test for drunken driving by its drivers in 2016, and they had to mandatorily undergo breathalyser tests at bus depots before the vehicles are handed over to them. However, sources from the bus corporation maintained that the mandatory test was not done.
On March 26, top officials of the bus corporation along its MD met to discuss accidents involving KSRTC buses. During the analysis of the accident cases, the top brass batted in favour of subjecting the drivers to mandatory breath-analyser tests. Director of KSRTC’s Security and Vigilance Department on the same day issued a circular to all the all officials under it to carry out the breath-analyser tests on drivers, conductors and other staffs every day and also to provide information on this.
The circular stated that the tests should be carried out at depots before the buses are handed over to the drivers, at control points, at night accommodations and at designated points where drivers are on night duty.