Chennai: In a freak accident in Tambaram, a MTC bus (21 G) lost control and rammed in to at least nine vehicles including 2 cars waiting at the signal on Gandhi road-GST road junction on Tuesday morning. Five motorists suffered injuries in the mishap, with 2 cars, 5 bikes and 2 load autorickshaws damaged.
The driver later told the police he was forced to take the bus by the depot managers despite the fact that the braking system of the bus was not functioning properly.
Onlookers and motorist initially blamed the MTC crew, but bus driver Parthasarathy told them that the bus's brakes were not functioning properly from the morning when he took the first trip from Tambaram to Broadway at 5 am. “I was forced to take the bus despite my informing them about the brakes,” he told the people and the police. The accident happened during his second trip to Broadway at around 9 am.
However, when contacted, an MTC official noted that the drivers are not supposed to drive faulty buses. “Even if somebody had asked him, he should have never taken the bus if he is not sure about it,” the official noted.
Police had registered a case of negligent driving. As the incident happened not very far away from the bus stand, a number of MTC employees gathered at the scene and started telling people at the spot that crew members were being forced to operate buses that are not in good condition.
