Road rage by private buses on the rise in Ernakulam

A spate of recent incidents of high-handedness and road rage involving private bus crew in Ernakulam district has left enforcement personnel red-faced.

Thursday’s incident in North Paravur, in which a man collapsed and died on seeing the driver of a rashly driven private bus whip out a knife and attack his son, is the latest in the chain of such incidents when bus crew took law into their hands. The incident occurred after the rashly driven private bus operating on the Kozhikode-Ernakulam route rammed the side mirror of a car in which the father-son duo was travelling and a dispute ensued.

The police inquiry into the incident showed that the bus driver, who went absconding soon after the melee, had brandished a knife and injured the young car driver.

“This being a criminal activity, the bus driver’s licence would in all probability be revoked, after an inquiry from our side. The Motor Vehicles Department [MVD] is being forced to resort to this step since such actions by the crew of public service vehicles have manifold ramifications. Such behaviour by bus crew is making a comeback, albeit on a higher scale, after the two-year pandemic lull,” said Salim Vijayakumar, Joint RTO, North Paravur.

The permit of the bus too will be suspended, it is learnt.

Mr. Vijayakumar had himself been at the receiving end of high-handedness by bus drivers, after the driver of a KSRTC bus rammed the bus into his car earlier this year near Aluva, enraged at the car halting in front of a pedestrian crossing for a group of pedestrians to cross over to the other side of the road. The driver did not stop after the incident. His licence was suspended for three months.

Former journalist Rejeesh Rahman said a recklessly-driven private bus had rammed the rear side of his car and collided head on with another car that was coming in the opposite direction on Sunday morning on Civil Line Road. “I would have opted for a case but for the owner of the other car preferring not to. The police too tried to strike a compromise, rather than press ahead with charges against the driver/owner of the bus, although CCTV footage showed that the bus driver was entirely at fault, and that none of the crew was wearing uniform. Such a stand emboldens unscrupulous bus crew,” he said.

It was just a fortnight ago that the crew of two buses clashed at Vyttila Mobility Hub, over time-schedule violation, following which one of them stabbed another.

The traffic police said they had stepped up rule enforcement, considering complaints against bus operators and following directives issued by the Kerala High Court to curb overtaking and rash driving by buses in the city. “Special drives are being conducted to adhere to the HC directive. The police and the MVD have also begun joint inspection of buses at terminal points, to inspect whether they are using banned horns and to keep tabs on other rule violations,” said Rejo P. Joseph, Assistant Commissioner of Police (City Traffic-East).

Members of the public have been asked to share pictures or videos of rule violations through the police’s Traffic Eye Whatsapp number 6238100100.