TNSTC driver suspended for using mobile phone while driving
Passengers of a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus commuting between Pudukkottai and Thanjavur districts had a harrowing experience as the bus driver was noticed using mobile phone while driving.
As a video recording the events inside the bus causing the passengers to panic is doing rounds in social media, TNSTC management said that departmental action will be taken at the driver after zeroing down his identity.
As a TNSTC mofussil bus was heading from Alangudi town in Pudukkottai district to town in Thanjavur district, the driver of the mofussil bus was noticed by the passengers to be using his mobile phone.
The driver was said to be engrossed in the phone for at least five minutes with one hand on the steering wheel even while commuting through the narrow roads. As one of the passengers recorded the event in his mobile phone, the video went viral.
The driver, Mookaiah, was ordered to be placed under suspension after a video clip showing him using the mobile phone while driving was circulated widely on social messaging platforms. The video was apparently shot by a passenger in the bus.
Collector P.Uma Maheswari on next day ordered the suspension of a driver of a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation for using mobile phone while driving. In a statement issued later, Ms.Uma Maheswari said bus drivers should not use mobile phones while on duty in the interest of the safety of passengers. Violations would attract stern action.
Officials of TNSTC had been instructed to brief drivers suitably and also ensure effective monitoring.
Source – Times Of India, The Hindu.
