‘Refusal to go’ tops autorickshaw violation list

‘Refusal to go’ tops autorickshaw violation list
Times of India

Bangalore: “Take me to MG Road,’’ you say.
“No, I’m going to Jayanagar,’’ says the auto driver.
This refusal to take you to your destination by autos is what Bangaloreans have been facing every day.
So much so that, the “refusal to go’’ forms the largest percentage of violations that autos are booked for every year — a whopping 48 per cent. And the fine? A mere Rs 100 is what the auto driver has to pay.
That is not all. For every 10 accidents in Bangalore, one is caused by an autorickshaw. Last year, nearly 1,033 people were injured in accidents caused by autos.

These statistics are revealed in a study conducted on the role of autorickshaws in accidents and road safety by Traffic Engineers and Safety Trainers (TEST).

The violations committed by autos show an upward trend with respect to refusal to go, defective fare meter, accidents due to overloading. While 24 per cent of violations are for overloading, 22 per cent are for demanding excess fare. Of the 72,000 autorickshaws registered in the city last year, almost 10 per cent are engaged for school trips, of which 11 per cent of the vehicles are found to ferry more than the stipulated six children.

Experts M.N. Sreehari and B. Krishna Prapoorna of TEST, in their findings have pointed out that from 1985 onwards, growing dissatisfaction among bus passengers over poor scheduling, longer walking and waiting times resulted in growth of autos; from 1990-95, there was a 115.42 per cent increase in the number of autorickshaw registrations.

Every year, 800 people receive injuries in accidents caused by autos while fatalities have increased from 27 in 2001 to 45 in 2002. A marginal decrease was observed in 2003 due to various proactive measures taken to prevent fatalities. However, total accidents caused by autorickshaws are steadily increasing over the years and have crossed the 1,100 mark last year.

The study which has also dwelt on the problems affecting autorickshaw drivers has stressed on inadequate training centres for drivers, lack of adequate CNG bunks and cost-prohibitive conversion kits, poor education and socio-economic background and long working hours.

Experts have made a few suggestions to improve the situation: sufficient LPG bunks, organising classes on human behaviour, stress management and general traffic discipline and exploring possibility of introducing side doors to autos which ferry school children. Refusal to ply and demanding excess fare must be viewed seriously, they said.

The grey areas

Over loading of schoolchildren.
Poor maintenance.
Lack of first aid kit in vehicles.
Noise and air pollution due to adulterated fuel.
Inadequate training centres for the drivers.
Rash and negligent driving.