RACING BPO CABS TURN KILLERS ON CITY ROADS

RACING BPO CABS TURN KILLERS ON CITY ROADS
Vijay Times


Yet another accident involving a BPO vehicle on the streets of Bangalore on Wednesday morning goes only to prove that there is no end to rash driving by call centre cabs.

The care-a-damn attitude by the over 24,000 cab drivers, despite stickers announcing “If found driving negligently, please call `...............telephone number’ is quite evident on the roads. The number of accidents involving cabs, the traffic violations seen all over and the lack of disciplined driving has made Bangalore a hell-hole for the average citizen.

The early morning accident on Raj Bhavan Road after a speeding call centre cab hit a tree, injuring all the 10 in the cab.

Take a look at the figures. There are 24,000 cabs, out of which 8,000 run as call centre cabs, transporting 45,000 employees everyday. The police book 5,000 cases against BPO cabs every year for violating traffic rules and rash driving. In this case, the accident occurred at 5 am when the cab belonging to Indicom Global Services was taking 10 employees back home after they finished their 6.30 p.m.-3.30 a.m. shift.

Majority of the call center cabs operate during night hours when no one exists on the road, and the idea of notifying the negligence of the driver goes unnoticed.

The city roads which usually are jam packed with vehicles are empty during late nightsearly mornings and well, becomes a `racing track’. Amarnath Reddy, an employee who was injured in the accident explained: “I was sitting right behind the driver’s seat and most of other employees were sleeping when the incident took place, as they were tired after finishing work. I did warn the driver, when he was driving at more than 100 kms per hour, but he didn’t listen to me. He told that he was running short of time for his next shift duty.” Another injured in the accident, Ganesh K, said that “Usually we are dropped in a Qualis vehicle but on this particular day it was a tempo traveller allotted to us. When we got into the cab, the driver was fast asleep and we woke him up. He didn’t wash his face and I did notice him nodding a few times while he was driving. But I ignored it and we paid for it badly. Luckily we didn’t die”.

Two employees in the cab have undergone surgery on leg and hands at the MS Ramaiah Hospital. Prof Naresh Shetty, medical director at MS Ramaiah hospital said that three of the injured will be discharged only after a week, as they still need some careful medical attention.

G S Manjunath, another injured victim of the incident told that he was fast asleep but occasionally I could feel as if though the driver was not driving but flying on air, I never felt the brakes on anywhere, but only woke up when he hit the tree straight ahead. The driver who was injured in the accident has been discharged along with six other employees. The Cubbon park traffic police which has registered a case.