BMTC drivers will pay for road traffic violations

BMTC drivers will pay for road traffic violations

Anil Kumar Sastry and Nagesh Prabhu

The fine amount will be deducted from the salary of the errant drivers

Minister takes decision after talks with police

There can be no excuse for breaking the law: Ashok

BANGALORE: Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) drivers, who violate road traffic rules, will have to pay the fine amount from their pocket.

This instruction was issued by Transport Minister R. Ashok here on Wednesday to BMTC Managing Director Syed Zameer Pasha. The Minister told Mr. Pasha that the corporation need not pay the fine amount as it was the driver who violated the traffic rules.

The Minister was interacting with a senior traffic police officer and reportedly asked him whether BMTC drivers, who violated traffic rules, were being penalised. The officer told the Minister that a large number of cases were being registered against BMTC buses for violating various traffic rules. The drivers frequently jumped signals, parked buses on pedestrian crossings at signals and violated one-way rule at night.

As per the rule, notices indicating the date and time of the violation were being sent to the registered owner of the buses – BMTC and the Corporation used to pay the fines, the officer said. He told the Minister that traffic police were not there to generate revenue for the Government but to bring order in the traffic. There was no use if the amount was debited from one government account (BMTC) and credited to another (traffic police), he said.

If the purpose of issuing of these notices was to be served, the drivers who were at fault had to be properly reprimanded, the officer said.

Mr. Asok asked him to stop the buses on the spot and impose penalty on the erring drivers. The officer said it was impossible for two reasons — passengers inside the bus would get agitated and it would cause a traffic jam.

The Minister said he empathised with the plight of the drivers. Because of the ongoing road-widening work, rise in the number of vehicles on roads and drivers of many other vehicles talking on mobile phones while driving, BMTC drivers were anoyed at times. However, these should not be excuses for violating traffic rules, he said. As a result, the Minister directed Mr. Pasha to see that the fine amount was deducted from errant drivers’ salary and thereupon paid to the traffic police.

Meanwhile, the traffic police have decided to launch a drive persuading BMTC drivers to stop buses at the designated places. The police would utilise the service of cadets of National Cadet Corps, traffic wardens and also traffic police constables for this purpose.