KOCHI: With the number of fatal road accidents on the rise, the KSRTC officials in Thiruvananthapuram are all set to rein in the reckless KSRTC drivers who violate the law.Orders have been sent to all regional depots to take stringent action against rash and reckless drivers.The order comes in the wake of a District Crime Records Bureau (DCRB) report stating that at least 190 deaths that had taken place in the state in the last financial year, as opposed to the 170 deaths registered in the year 2009-2010, had been caused by KSRTC drivers.Though most of the accidents can be partly blamed on the recklessness of the other party, a large number of KSRTC drivers have also been found to be at fault.“This is mainly owing to the increasing workload of the employees as there is a huge dearth of staff in the corporation. But this cannot be cited as an excuse. The number of accidents caused by our drivers is alarming, with at least four or five minor accidents happening every week. The driver has a huge responsibility entrusted in his hands and hence has to be careful,” said Gangadharan, senior official with the KSRTC.The statistical figures point out that at least 1,026 accidents, both fatal and non-fatal have been registered with the DCRB in the last financial year. This is an alarming increase from the average of 950 accidents registered in 2009-2010.However, the drivers said that their over-burdened schedules were the main issue and that the KSRTC’s official order against them was unfair.“The KSRTC has to strive to fill the huge number of vacancies if they want to bring down the number of accidents. We are forced to work for long hours. The KSRTC is not doing much to bring down our burden,” a KSRTC driver said.Two weeks ago, an order from the managing director of the KSRTC was sent to the regional depots stating that the offences should not be looked upon lightly and severe action should be initiated against the offending drivers.“We have been asked to take strict action against the offending party, except for a mechanical failure, wherein the driver is not at fault,” the official said.
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