CPI Rajya Sabha member Binoy Viswam has urged Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to make changes in the Motor Vehicle Act to ensure proper working regulations for transport workers including mandatory sleeping berths in trucks for drivers.
The MPs letter to the Minister in the backdrop of a recent road accident in Tamil Nadu's Tirupur where 19 passengers were killed after a bus they were travelling from Bengaluru to Ernakulam, was hit by a truck.
In his letter to Gadkari, Vishwam claimed that Palakkad RTO (enforcement), the accident was a result of carelessness by the lorry driver, who it appears had fallen asleep while driving.
"It is my understanding that prior to the 2018 amendment by the Central Government to the Motor Vehicle Act's rules, a minimum of two drivers were required for transport vehicles in order to prevent exactly such types of accidents. However, since the amendment, only one driver is entrusted with undertaking long and dangerous journeys," said Binoy.
“It is a well-documented fact that the working conditions of these drivers are extremely poor and immense pressure is placed on them to ensure timely completion of journeys. By reducing the minimum required number of drivers, it is only the interest of the truck owners and companies that are served, while innocent lives are jeopardized in the process. This tragic accident has highlighted the consequences of hasty changes to the law and its impact on the lives of innocent people,” he said in the letter.
“I urge you to bring forth changes in the law that ensure proper working regulations for transporter workers, including mandatory sleeping berths in trucks and lay-bys along the highway for truckers to stop,” he said.