Kochi City police screen footage of accidents to sensitise bus drivers

The Kochi city police on Tuesday screened videos of bus accidents for a group of private bus drivers in the city to raise safety awareness among them.

The police went for the visual evidence-based approach at a meeting of stakeholders convened to discuss mounting complaints against private bus services. Videos of around 25 recent accidents, captured by CCTVs on the accident spots and those installed inside buses, from different parts of the State were screened.

“The videos were screened on a big screen with original audio. The footage included accidents caused by carelessness of the drivers as well as the victims. Every visual was carefully analysed and the participants were sensitised about how each incident could have been avoided,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic West) Mohammed Nizar said.

The police at the State level have been collecting CCTV footage of road accidents since last year.

Addressing the gathering, District Police Chief (Kochi city) Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar said a large number of petty cases were pending against private bus services in the city and drivers were often not being responsible as bus owners pay the fines. “Drivers should be personally responsible for the fines slapped on them for traffic rule violations,” he said. He said private bus drivers should strictly maintain police clearance certificates and wear uniform. The officer instructed bus operators to keep on record details of drivers on duty daily so that identification will be easier in case of a police investigation.

“Bus drivers should have more patience and responsibility when it comes to safety of pedestrians, especially senior citizens,” he said.

He said the cooperation between the police and the private bus sector would be strengthened to ensure road safety. Police officers, representatives of private bus owners, drivers and trade unions attended the meet.