In a recent incident in the city, a school bus collided with a KSRTC bus which led to the tragic and needless death of a six-year-old. This accident saw 10 other students injured due to the collision. It was noticed that the bus driver was speaking on a cellphone when his bus collided with the KSRTC bus. When we book cabs, we have the confidence that we will reach our destination safely but this confidence becomes shaky when we see cab drivers or auto drivers using phones even though the rules strictly say that it is prohibited. This puts the driver, passengers as well as other commuters at risk. We talk to youngsters in the city to find out if they have experienced instances with cab/auto drivers on the phone, and what their reaction was.
City-based professional Bhuvi Karanth says, “People always have the urge to break rules. Drivers get the feeling that they are invincible and this thinking can only lead to fatal accident. I remember this particular incident where an auto driver was on his phone for almost 10 minutes. And being on MG Road he was putting mine as well his life on danger. I tried telling him to hang up but he just gave a sheepish smile and said ‘Nothing will happen madam, I can manage."
Work calls are unavoidable, attending a work call with a very loud and rude cab driver is next to impossible. City-based Samantha Adeline says, “I was travelling in a cab when I got a work call. I had asked the driver to switch off the music which he did. Half way through the call, the driver started talking loudly on a call. I asked him to lower his voice, with no luck. I felt what he did was both annoying and dangerous.”
We have all had experiences where drivers have behaved very rudely and often felt helpless in situations. City-based entrepreneur Prashant Soudri says, “I have come across instances while travelling where the driver was on the phone, even though he was using his head phones, his attention was diverted as he was on a call. There was an instance where I felt scared as the driver was constantly on the phone. But I wasn’t able to say anything to him as I have noticed that cab drivers are quite rude to passengers.”
Regardless of any job, it is necessary to adhere to proper work ethics. City based sociologist Dr Sowrabha says, “It is all about following rules. I think people who do this, believe that rules are meant to be broken. Most personal calls that the driver attends should be stopped. Self supervision of drivers is required and they need to be taught to abide by rules. Drivers are capable of multi tasking but it can be hazardous. Their attention span may affect ambulances, kids on the road etc. I think they need to be sensitised and not just be confident about their driving expertise.”
