Motor Vehicles department (MVD) officials will inspect all tourist buses in Kerala within a fortnight and the antecedents of drivers will be verified, Minister for Transport Antony Raju has said.
Action would be taken against operators of buses if the speed governors of vehicles were faulty or found tampered with, the Minister said on Friday. Even if the MVD blacklisted vehicles for exceeding speed limits, the operators approached the court and got relief, Mr. Raju said. Some bus owners, like the one of the vehicle that was involved in an accident in Palakkad on Wednesday night while carrying schoolchildren on a trip, ignored speeding alerts sent to his mobile phone.
‘Avoid backlisted buses’
Mr. Raju exhorted parents, teachers and others who arranged tours to steer clear of buses blacklisted by the MVD for various offences and were heavily embellished with illegal fittings such as high-decibel audio systems and lights.
His reference to verifying the antecedents of drivers is seen against the backdrop of reports that the driver of the tourist bus involved in Wednesday’s accident had multiple cases pending against him, including for drunk driving and damaging property.
A senior Transport department official told The Hindu that efforts were under way to make hiring of tourist buses which flout safety norms an offence.
Speed limit
Referring to reports that the KSRTC-Swift buses were permitted to operate at speeds up to 110 kmph, a senior official of the agency said an earlier decision in this regard was revoked and their speed limit had been fixed at 90 kmph. “In addition, the dual dashcams (which face the inside and the front exterior) of KSRTC-Swift buses involved in accidents were regularly analysed, based on which the services of around 20 drivers who were found to be at fault were terminated.
