Hi,

One of my relatives was killed in an accident sometime back in Rajajinagar area - she was run over by a BMTC bus soon after getting off a bus.

If you need further details, do let me know.

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Richa, wanted to know more about your project - is it analytical in nature? Are you collecting data/stats or only anecdotal 'evidences'. Will compare BMTC's safety record with say city buses in Mangalore, Mysore, or with a larger inter-city bus corporation like KSRTC?

Or is it to highlight the trauma faced by accident victims? Or if BMTC is responsive enough to victims after the accidents?

If you feel like it, you should join hands with BMTC tracking project guys here (Sudheendra, Rithesh, Manjari etc) to produce some solid analytical output!

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The only way out would be an RTI exercise, I guess. But, before that, do make a visit to the BMTC central office (check at CTMO's office in Shantinagar complex first - Big Bazaar), and see to what extent they will co-operate.

Muralidhar Rao

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I was injured in an accident with a parisara vahani in 2006 at CSB junction and have a screw/bolt up my elbow to keep it in place!

Shook me up for sure... I root for trains now and stopped driving a 2 wheeler since :)

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thanks for replying  . yes surely i need detail. You can mail me in richa.dhodi@gmail.com

i m doing a project and i need detail and if you know anyone else who is affected please mail me .
and forward my queston to people .



thansk so much

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Richa,

just a suggestion, but if you elaborate a bit on the objectives of the study and what you intend to do with the findings, a lot more people might be able to help you out.

-Shastri

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I m staying in Bangalore city for almost  1 year now and i daily commute through buses. The major problem which i see is city bus drivers of BMTC are that they are  too rash while  driving which results in accidents.


What you have to say about the fatal accidents which we hear daily through media?

Does any of your relative or known is affected by that ? please contatc me .. at - richa.dhodi@gmail.com

i can help you.

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To be fair, at least on my side of town, I don't see that many rash BMTC drivers. Honest and fair observation. The way they drive is not much different from the way you and me drive - thats what I mean by fair. Private bus drivers are much worse than BMTC drivers, yellow cabs are the worst - observation based opinion. But we love to beat on big and sarkaari vehicles, only because we can. Take on a yellow plate qualis or sumo if you (newspapers, on-road activists) have the guts to do so.

BMTC drivers have bigger vehicles, and have more momentum to manage. Recently, I have seen two minor (thank god) accidents involving bus and two wheelers. The two wheeler was at fault (1 - trying to sneak in from side, 2nd  - driving on wrong side) in both the cases.

They can certainly drive better, and some of them are bad too. But if most BMTC drivers were rash or bad as we make them out to be, fatality rates on Bangalore roads would be 2x higher, I think.

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SB,

Do you live in the same city as the rest of us? :).  I think BMTC sent about 100 people last year to parinirvana.

My work takes me to Bombay quite often.  When I see a line of BEST buses approaching a stop, I rarely see them overtake each other or overtake and then cut in front of the bus that is standing.  Our friends here don't see to get this (like the rest of us - I have seen many cars overtake me only to turn left!).

Then the VVs and their high speed driving on Nh7 weaving in and out of traffic.  No governors?  No basic training to stay left or the middle of a 6 lane highway?

Sorry - but as the biggest vehicles on the road they need to be extra careful.  And if BMTC cannot train 5000 drivers on safety (100/session = 50 sessions) then they need to be hauled up. 

I think a monetary reward of rs.10000 should be given for accident free driving and safe driving.  How they will decide criteria I don't know and how they will track and measure.  It should include some theory questions as well.

Srivathsa

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SY, Bad behaviour is different from dangerous/rash driving... And on this count, I would say I live in the same city as SB!!

     The point about non-existant governers is incorrect. three weeks back, I Volvo driver told me that almost all buses are fixed with speed governers (I have not made any independant verification of the same!!). he also told me that if beyond 70kmph, if the driver continued to press the accelerator, the accelerator pedal retards back. He also explained me the mechanism/procedure to disable the governer, which I did not understand!! And also told me that BMTC officers inspects the buses regularly to check if the governers are tampered with... And that a few drivers were fined/warned for doing so....
    
     sometimes, reading the praja comments, I get a feeling that probably the civic agencies are bent upon to destroy the city and only intend to harm the people here. I am not saying this based on your comment, this was a general opinion about a few posts!!

-Srivatsava V
http://srivatsava-vajapeyam.blogspot.com

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How Airport VVs are able to overtake my taxi which is going close to 80 kmph. 

a) Bad behaviour at bus stops is tantamount to unsafe driving because a small mistake and someone is likely to get hit and get seriously injured. Expecting passengers to get off in the middle of the road puts them at risk to getting hit by some other vehicle.  

b) Jumping lights - please go stand at KR Circle at 9:00 p.m. and see how our BMTC friends not only jump lights but harass people who are waiting for the light to turn green by honking persistently from behind.    Or even the VVs on NH7 who jump lights because they are going too fast to stop in time.

Of course compared to their ilk in Cochin our lot are saints.  But let alone Singapore, they don't match up with even BEST.   BTP needs to help them by clearing the bus stops of autos for starters. 

On the impression on civic agencies - look at the state of our city and tell me, whether they intended it or not,  have they not brought it to ruin by their lack of planning?  Their attitude to citizens if one of master-servant.  When my wife recently went to BDA to enquire about a BDA khata - the man starts shouting at her.  Similar story happened at a post office to someone else.  At BBMP - naale banni is the common refrain as if we have our whole lives to spend at BBMP.

BDA - see the difference between the way Jayanagar has been planned and just go a bit south and see JP Nagar .  Leaving aside BG Road and Kanakapura Road - there is just 24th Main that connects most of JP Nagar to Jayanagar and beyond.  They did not have the foresight to leave a couple of corridors for a Metro or some through expressways.

BBMP - less said the better.  Cannot manage to provide even decent footpaths.  Dog problem - nothing done.   Cannot manage parking.   Good at cutting trees.  Good at widening roads without leaving footpaths. 

SY

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I think the issue here is that road manners are poor by all users, be these buses, cars, autos or pedestrians. Singling out BMTC drivers alone may seem unfair - this was SB's point, & I also believe this to be the more balanced assessment.

I was in Chennai recently & noted how better things were on the streets there. Of course, they do not have so much of crowding on the streets, nor the very large no. of intersections that we have. They also have a much better public transport system, particularly bus services.

The bus drivers there 'connect' better with users & are much more aware of passengers' needs, the user base being much larger. I think it's the same in Mumbai too, where bus services are the best in the country.

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Report in yesterday's TOI:

Two students of IIJNM wanted to know the accident rate of BMTC buses and charges against errant drivers. An RTI application revealed that of 500 fatal accidents since 2000, BMTC drivers were at fault in 367 or 73% of cases. BMTC dismissed only 35 of 317 errant drivers and the rest were back to driving its buses.

Muralidhar Rao

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While reading this "paid news" piece:

lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/mobile.aspx

I have a suggestion for Volvo (India). Most of the Volvos in Bengaluru City are rashly driven and they dont seem to have time to let off passengers safely or stop at every bus stop [this attitude is encouraged by BMTC]. This seems not to be the case in other cities where the conductor reprimands the driver to stick to the timetable and keep a steady pace. I saw [ 3rd Nov 2010, 6:47 PM at Hosmat/Garuda Mall area] a 335E [registration KA01-FA-433] being driven dangerously, to put it mildly. I am not sure where the complaint should be lodged and I also notice that there is a list of traffic offences (including dangerous driving) against this vehicle on the Bangalore Traffic website. The solution to this is to remap the ECU (engine control unit) of all current Volvos to suit Indian conditions. The remap must be done to reduce acceleration, speed and power of the Volvo buses to match ordinary buses. This will also increase Fuel Efficiency. In future Volvo can produce low power engines to match Indian conditions/mindset. This is a good contract to give to Volvo [lots of money for all stake holders] which is already being bailed out by different state governments . Once this is done the red color [associated with malice and error] of the Volvo buses should be changed to Olive green the traditional color of peace and show people its environmentaly friendly nature [another lucrative contract]

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