Blueline menace: HC flays govt, traffic police

New Delhi, July 10 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today issued notices to the Delhi government and city traffic police to reply by July 30 as to why the rules laid down by the Supreme Court in 1997 for bus drivers were not being followed.

The court also asked why no action was being taken to curb the increasing numbers of accidents caused by blueline buses in the capital.

A Bench comprising Justices Mukul Mudgal and P K Bhasin took suo motu notice of the grim situation in the national capital relating to the increasing number of accidents caused by the 'killer buses'.

The bench also directed the Delhi police to reveal the number of police officials owning buses and the rate of accidents being caused by them.

Slamming the state government and the traffic police, the bench questioned why the Supreme Court guidelines of 1997 were not being followed by the bus drivers wherein their owners were asked to maintain speed, proper low floor entrance and exit. ''Untrained drivers, drivers with previous record of causing an accident sould not be allowed to drive,'' it said.

The Bench observed that not a single guideline of the apex court was being followed.

Besides directing the transport department to furnish the exact statistics of the buses plying in the capital and the accidents caused by them, the court also wanted to know the exact number of drivers convicted for causing fatal accidents.

UNI