8,009 challans issued to erring RTC drivers

HYDERABAD: It seems that most Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation bus drivers in the city are flouting traffic rules and figures tell as much.With traffic inspectors issuing as many as 8,009 challans totaling Rs. 10.81 lakh to bus drivers, traffic police and APSRTC, Greater Hyderabad zone have decided to take up a special drive to educate drivers over traffic rules.C V Anand, additional commissioner of police (Traffic) said contract drivers recruited by the RTC management are mainly causing traffic violations as they lack awareness of rules.“Traffic police have issued thousands of challans to drivers for their rash driving.However, experienced drivers do not seen to flout traffic rules,” he added.Meanwhile, the bigger question is who will pay the fines- the drivers or the APSRTC management? “The drivers who committed the violation will pay it.Initially, we will pay the total amount in instalments and later deduct it from the driver’s salary,’’ said A Purushotham Naik, executive director, APSRTC Greater Hyderabad zone. The ongoing drive against erring bus drivers is slowly proving to be effective.As bus drivers indulged in halting buses in front of bus-bays, the exercise has enabled police to reduce to some extent the usual traffic chaos.Most of the challans were issued for wrong side driving, stop line violation, signal jumping, wrong parking and cell phone driving. The Musheerabad bus depot leads the way in traffic violations with 704 challans followed by Ranigunj-I with 670 and Ranigunj-II depot with 611 cases.“Even with bus bays set up in front of bus stands, most drivers failed to halt their buses on bus-bays.Other violations include over-speeding, jumping signals and stop line violation,” said GVG Ashok Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (Traffic).He added the APSRTC management had paid some fine amount through demand drafts.