GPS, uniform colour code for drivers

 

Chennai: Installation of GPS de­vi­ces and a uniform colour code for drivers were some important recommendations made to the representatives of call taxi agencies by city police at a meeting held at the police commissionerate on Thursday. 

 

Thursday’s meeting was only a follow-up of a similar meeting held with call taxi agencies two months ago where firms were asked to verify the antecedents of drivers before they employ them, police said. “Their full details consisting of proof of address along with a photograph and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from a local police station was advised then,” a senior official said. The firms have been asked to comply with the antecedent verification and other criteria within January 15, an official release said.

 

Speaking to DC, a senior official privy to the meeting said that more than 10,000 vehicles ply through the roads of Chennai and it is one of the highly unorganized sectors. Many crimes against women and a few kidnap cases in which call taxi drivers were involved have been reported in various parts of the country and it is high time that employers maintain a database of the drivers they employ, he added.

 

In future, it is advisable to employ drivers only after background checks are done and drivers can avail NOCs from the commissioner’s office in the city, a release said. Dri­vers from other districts can avail the same at the respective district police headquarters by paying a nominal amount, it add­ed. In case a driver in­du­l­ges in an accident and is found not to be in possession of a license and oth­er required documents, the employer would be held responsible, according to an official release.