AP to introduce 2 new safety features for private buses

Vijayawada: As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce road accidents involving private buses, the transport department is set to introduce two new automated alert systems to strengthen enforcement and improve passenger safety across the state.According to transport department officials, the new systems will generate real-time alerts for field-level staff in two situations: When a bus continues its journey for more than four hours without a halt, indicating possible driver fatigue, and when a bus remains stationary for more than 45 minutes during the course of a trip, enabling officials to verify the reason for the prolonged stop. These measures are aimed at enhancing monitoring and ensuring stricter compliance with safety regulations.According to transport department data, around 1,800 private buses registered within Andhra Pradesh and those registered outside the state and availed AITP crisscross the state daily ferrying passengers and the transport department, through a centralised control room at the department headquarters has been tracking the movement of these private buses.Already, the transport department, through the central control room, has been strictly enforcing speed limits for private buses, booking cases against buses indulging in overspeeding.

It now believes that the two new alert systems will significantly enhance passenger safety in private buses in the state.“A driver driving a bus continuously for four hours will lead to driver fatigue, which would subsequently lead to the driver dozing off behind the wheel and leading to a vehicle collision, which will put the passengers’ lives travelling on the bus at risk. Incidentally, the majority of bus accidents involve drivers dozing off behind the wheel, and the new alert system will put an end to it,” RTO Suneel, who heads the control room at the transport department headquarters, said.“Another safety alert, i.e., sending an alert when a bus stops for more than 45 minutes during the trip in case of a mechanical failure will enable the transport department staff to immediately intervene and ensure that the passengers are provided alternate travel arrangements or the mechanical repairs of that particular bus are rectified immediately causing no inconvenience to the passengers,” the RTO further said, adding the two alert systems would be introduced in the next two-three months.