Public transport drivers get lessons in road safety

Talk to passengers politely and think about senior citizens and children crossing the road before speeding, road safety is the most important aspect for your family and you.

Talk to passengers politely and think about senior citizens and children crossing the road before speeding, road safety is the most important aspect for your family and you.

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These were a few of the instructions given to bus drivers and taxi drivers during an hour-long training at the Western India Automobile Association (WIAA) on Wednesday.

The transport department and the Road Transport Office (RTO) with the help of the WIAA, a non-government organisation, are training public transport drivers, which include BEST, taxi, autorickshaw drivers and school bus drivers.

The training sessions, which will conclude on January 15, emphasise on the importance of driving safely and obeying the rulebook through an interactive session with the traffic police and videos. The drivers are also being trained on the simulators to understand the importance of speed and breaking combination.

“The objective is to bring down the number of road accidents. The training focuses on educating drivers to drive safely,” said Dilip Jadhav, transport commissioner of Mumbai.

The drivers attending the sessions also include a few who were caught committing traffic offences. Their licences will be returned only after they complete the training. So far, more than 150 drivers have been trained.

Apart from Mumbai, training sessions are also being conducted in Pune and Ahmedabad. The authorities aim to train 1,500 drivers across the three cities.