Suvendu launches training programme for 1,200 bus drivers
Kolkata: In a bid to ensure the safety of passengers while they travel in buses, an initiative has been taken to organise training programmes for as many as 1,200 bus drivers of South Bengal State Transport Corporation under the project Safe Drive Save Life.
The training has been organised at the Traffic Training School of the Kolkata Traffic Police. The 1,200 drivers of the state-run buses will get trained in phases and the programme will continue for one-and-a-half-months.
After inaugurating the training programme, Suvendu Adhikari, the state Transport minister, said: "The main target is to ensure safe and secured journey of the passengers. I hope the training will be helpful for drivers."
He further added that around 85 to 90 percent road accidents take place due to human errors. Mistakes can happen both in the case of drivers as well as pedestrians. Programmes to create awareness among people have been taken up. Now, the training of the bus drivers will improve the situation further.
It may be mentioned that the state government has taken several steps to check road accidents in Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had launched the state-wide Safe Drive Save Life campaign that has helped in bringing down the rate of accidents in the state. The state Transport department has also allotted funds for different police Commissionerates and the state police to create necessary arrangements to check road accidents. Besides creating awareness among people, steps were also taken to create the necessary infrastructure to control road accidents.
It may be recalled that the state Transport department and the police had earlier taken up an initiative to ensure that drivers do not use mobile phones while driving. It is learnt that during the training, the drivers will be told about the situation that often leads to accidents and one of the causes is the use of cell phones during driving. The police also pasted stickers and posters on vehicles containing messages on the quantum of punishment if caught speaking on mobile phones while driving. The small-size stickers were pasted at a corner of windscreens of vehicles so that it acts as a constant reminder for drivers.