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| Edited By: Mewati Sitaram |Source: DNA |Updated: Nov 16, 2014, 07:19 AM IST
515: the number of fatal accidents that involved the red buses of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (ST) in 2013-14. These fatal accidents were 65 more than those involving the ST in the previous year. The number of accidents, fatal and non-fatal, increased to 3150 in 2013-14, up by 70 as compared with those in the previous year. What is the organisation doing to prevent these accidents?
ST's vice-chairman & managing director Sanjay Jagannath Khandare shared the details with dna's Mewati Sitaram.
Q: What is ST doing to reduce the accidents that occur because of its drivers' mistakes?
A: All our drivers now have to go through refresher training courses. Our drivers may be well-experienced, but a refresher course will revitalise them. This course will be conducted periodically in all depots of the ST. Also, we have our drivers undergo counselling with experts from prominent institutes at the state and national level.
Q: Any medical assistance or health check-ups for drivers?
A: Yes. We have begun to put all drivers who are over forty years old through compulsory medical tests. These check-ups can help us detect any major diseases or stress in the drivers that might affect their performance.
Q: What about drivers who come back tired after a long drive?
A: In almost all depots across the state, we have improved the conditions of the drivers' retiring rooms. We are having discussions with leading corporate houses about providing amenities to the drivers' retiring rooms through the medium of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. We are mulling over keeping television sets, carrom boards and other games in the retiring rooms as well.
Q: Will you have a rotating schedule for driving duties across all routes?
A: Yes, we are in the process of doing that. All drivers would be rotated on all routes and buses at regular intervals. No driver can monopolise any specific routes and buses.
