: That the bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor is a perennial nightmare was proved once again on Tuesday morning when two passengers of a Blueline were injured after the driver, while trying to save a pedestrian who had strayed in the bus lane, swerved the bus into a railing near Pushp Vihar.

Road to hell

The first bus accident on the BRT corridor since its trial run began has driven home a point: even the supposedly much wider bus lanes also lack enough space for buses to manoeuvre. On Tuesday morning, two passengers in a Blueline bus were injured when the driver made an attempt to save a pedestrian who suddenly came on the corridor by swerving to the left and hitting the railing. The incident took place at Pushp Vihar around 8 am. The bus on route number 544 was headed from Ambedkar Nagar to Sarjoni Nagar at the time.

Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria has called for extensive amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, for imposing stringent penalties on the drivers for violation of traffic and road safety rules. He said the driving licence of those responsible for road accidents should be compulsorily suspended and harsh punishment awarded to them.

In an accident where both the vehicle are at fault, the liability to compensate lies more with the bigger one, an Accident Claims Tribunal has ruled. In case of a collision of a car and motorcycle, both of which had faulted, "blameworthiness" should be made out as per the horse power of vehicle, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) judge A.S. Jayachandra held.

The traffic department of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) clamps down on around 15,000 motorised three wheelers and 1,000 city service buses from today in a bid to ease the passengers' everyday hassles and streamline the commuter services within the periphery of 60-sq km area of the port city.

The chaos on the roads points to the alarming fallout of the huge rise in vehicle population. Pedestrians, the bulk of the urban poor, are affected most of all.

A project to highlight the key flaws in design of Indian roads and develop a manual is to be launched here in the Rajasthan Capital. The manual, first of its kind in India, will contain recommendations on "remedial traffic calming strategies' for policy makers and those involved in traffic management such as police, municipal authorities and the public works department persons. CUTS (Consumer Unity and Trust Society) International has conceptualised the project in partnership with Lund University, Department of Technology and Society, Sweden with the support of the Swedish International Development Agency, New Delhi. The project is titled, "Traffic calming strategies to improve pedestrian safety in India'. Umesh Gupta of CUTS-CART (Centre for Research and Training) said 24 sites from six locations would be taken up for a detailed study of road crashes.