"The driver Prashant Gedam was drunk and the passenger said, that they had asked him to stop the bus but, he did not pay heed to their request," says an official from Thane traffic police.
Twelve day after a drunk TMT driver killed a traffic constable at Ghodbunder road, a similar incident took place on Monday evening. However, the traffic constable not only escaped being hurt but, even followed the driver and booked him.
On March 21, around 9am, traffic constable ND Garje was stationed at Gaimukh-Ghodbunder road stretch. He got a message from some car commuters that the driver of an ST (state transport ) bus number MH20 BL 145 coming towards Thane from Bhayadander, has been driving the bus erratically.
An alert Garje tried to stop it at Gaimukh, but, the driver just drove by. Garje, then followed the bus for two kilometers and stopped him.
"The driver Prashant Gedam was drunk and the passenger said, that they had asked him to stop the bus but, he did not pay heed to their request," says an official from Thane traffic police.
The cops then made Gedam undergo a breathalyser test and found out, that he had 250mg alcohol concentration in his blood, while 30mg is the permissible limit. The driver was arrested by Kasarvadavli police under sections 184 (rash driving) and 185 (drunk driving) of Motor Vehicle Act and was released on bail on Tuesday.
This is second such incident of rash driving by a drunken driver within a fortnight on Gaimukh-Ghodbunder road in Thane. On March 11, Gajanan Shejul, 56, a TMT (Thane municipal transport) bus driver crushed a traffic constable Chandrakant Salunkhe, 44, under his bus.
Shejul was drunk and driving rashly, thereby, scaring the 40 odd passengers in his bus. Some of them even forced him to stop the bus at Kashimira and got down. At that time, Salunkhe was managing the traffic at Gaimukh, when the bus rammed into him and succumbed to his injuries. His family later donated his eyes.
After that incident, the cops have upped their drive against drunk drivers along with asking TMT to conduct breathalyzer tests on their drivers. "The Gaimukh stretch is a traffic heavy spot and Garje had gone there to clear traffic. Thankfully, due to his alertness and that of the passengers who informed about the drunken driver, he was able to save many lives," added the cop.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}