APSRTC bus mishap: Driver operated wrong gear, two placed under suspension
Vijayawada: A three-member joint inquiry committee that went into the APSRTC bus mishap here on Monday has found fault with the bus driver V Prakasam.
He chose the wrong gear of ‘forward’ instead of ‘reverse’ in the automatic transmission system, it said, and recommended his suspension along with another RTC official. The mishap at Pandit Nehru Bus Station claimed three lives.
The panel comprising deputy chief traffic manager of NTR district John Sudhakar, deputy chief mechanical engineer (head office) Ch Jeevan and deputy chief personnel manager of Vijayawada, Sree Lakshmi, inquired into the reasons for the mishap.
The panel, in unclear terms, blamed Autonagar depot assistant manager VV Lakshmi for her alleged failure to have “proper supervision” on the driver’s performance of duty and recommended her suspension as also departmental action.
In similar terms, it also recommended departmental action against Autonagar depot manager Praveen Kumar for his failure to have a “proper monitoring” of the functioning of the staff.
APSRTC sources say that the corporation had launched the Volvo buses to be operated as metro luxury air-conditioned intercity buses some eight years ago and the buses have automatic transmission. “The driver in the present case is having over 35 years of experience and is nearing superannuation. He has a good track record in driving.”
They say that, however, the driver did not check the status of the automatic transmission system that it was in forward mode. He accelerated the speed, resulting in the bus moving forward and entering the platform, killing two persons on the spot and causing the death of a toddler.
