Cameras discipline bus drivers

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  The camera surveillance system installed in the capital city in a bid to check the rising violation of traffic rules by motorists is yet to succeed, as official records state that a large number of motorists still continue to break the rules. However, there is one aspect where the surveillance system of the City Police scored a valuable point for sure - in changing the KSRTC drivers into a more disciplined lot.  The number of cases involving KSRTC buses violating traffic rules on city roads has come down dramatically, ever since the launch of the camera surveillance system. The official records with the Control Room wing of the City Police are a testimony to this fact. The camera surveillance system, being implemented in different phases, became fully  functional since last April. The number of KSRTC buses that were caught in the eagle-eyed lens of the police surveillance cameras in April was 58. Among them, 54 were caught  violating the red signal and four overspeeding. However, in an interesting turn of events, the number of cases went down to just under 10 right from the next month itself. Four months down the lane, following the launch of the surveillance system in April, the number of cases registered against KSRTC buses in the month of July was only five.  Control Room Circle Inspector Asokan told City Express that the charge memos for the KSRTC drivers were being sent to the the Managing Director of the KSRTC and not to the drivers individually.  ‘’The authorities might have given strict instructions to the drivers regarding the issue,’’ he said.  The Inspector also said that it was this positive change of attitude that the police wanted to bring forth, rather than imposing penalty while launching the camera surveillance system. It is the same response that we look forward to in the other motorists too, he added.  However, Alexander K Luke, the MD of Kerala Road Transport Corporation, chose to give the credit to the drivers themselves for the improvement.  ‘’It is true that we have been conducting various sessions to improve the road manners of our drivers. But we had never issued any strict directives to the drivers in this regard. If their performance has improved, the drivers themselves are to be credited,’’ he said.