Bus tragedy: Questions unanswered

With 45 dead, it was clear that most passengers on the seats were trapped and could not escape. Usually in a shipwreck the captain has to ensure everyone else’s safety before his own and exits only after everyone else has made through but in this case the driver was the first to abandon the bus.

Assam, Haryana, Nainital and on Wednesday, Mahabubnagar. At least 100 lives were lost, all in a span of hardly two months. This is sure to instill fear among frequent bus travellers. Accidents do occur, it is quite natural, but what is the remedy? Are precautionary measures taken? If yes, how informed are the drivers with the safety measures? Are they equipped enough to execute them in case of emergency?

If the Volvo intercity coach had a capacity to seat 43 members and the statistics show that there were 50 passengers travelling, it can be assumed that the ones who escaped were not on the seats. Lucky are the men who had a chance to save themselves. But it is the ones on the seat who had to pay with their lives and it is them who had to be promised safety first.

Unlike other official travel websites, Jabbar Travels does not promise the safety of passengers. But it does mention “wide range of services unsurpassed by any competitor in this industry”, and almost all major travel companies do promise safety. Now it comes to questioning the travel companies that on what basis do they promise safety?

Volvo gives training to drivers specially to handle their buses and these drivers are well equipped with the knowledge on handling emergencies. In some of the basic steps to be taken in case of a fire in the bus, it is said that the driver should stop the bus and analyse the situation to determine if evacuation is necessary. If not, he might start an unnecessary panic. But in this case, the exact opposite happened. No doubt, the bus was stopped. But the bus driver found his way out not giving any attention to the trapped passengers. The driver was caught fleeing and is now in police custody. Question now is if the bus driver is a certified Volvo driver? If yes why wasn’t any evacuation plan executed?

In conversation with The Hyderabad Hans, the customer care incharge of Kallada travels Venkateshvaran said, “Drivers in Kallada Travels are the ones who are certified by Volvo, and are well equipped with an evacuation plan for the passengers in case of any emergency.”

He also added that passengers have to be guided about the emergency exits and what they can possibly do in case of an emergency just before they start their journey, just like how they do it before a flight is about to take off.”

Lakdikapul, is a famous hub in the city for tourist buses. Various travel agents in the area claimed that all the drivers are trained personally by Volvo for a period of one-month in Bengaluru and after that, they receive a certificate of approval. It’s only after that, would they be allowed to drive the bus.

Shivanand, executive, VRL Travels, said,“All our drivers are trained by Volvo. The company also sets a condition which goes like, “If you want to buy a vehicle, send us two drivers for training. If you fail to do so, the vehicle is not delivered.”

Satyanarayana, media relations, Volvo Buses, clarified, “At this juncture, we cannot represent the sequence or cause of the event as investigations are going on in this regard by the relevant authorities.

A team from Volvo would be also visiting to gather facts of this incident. We will offer all cooperation to the authorities and agencies investigating this accident.”

With inputs from TSS Siddharth