With the state administration turning a blind eye to the blood on the streets, Metro turned to its readers for suggestions. A few popular safety pointers and police reactions...

Make it mandatory for all buses to have photographs of drivers prominently displayed.

Make it mandatory for the bus owner to keep a set of photographs of the driver with him, along with residential proof.

This would enable police to trace the driver, if he escapes after the accident.

— Hari Shankar

We cannot make it mandatory for buses to display photographs as this falls under the purview of the public vehicles department (PVD). If there is a picture of the driver, it will definitely help us trace him faster.

But otherwise, too, it is not much of a problem for us, as we impound the bus, trace the owner and make sure he produces the driver.

— Ranveer Kumar,
joint commissioner of police (traffic)

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Designate bus lanes on all major routes, and ensure that the buses move only along these lanes. This shall put an end to overtaking and racing on roads.

Buses shall not be allowed to stop anywhere else other than at designated bus stops.

The commission system of paying drivers (on the basis of number of trips made and number of passengers picked up) should be scrapped and drivers paid on an hourly basis.

— Harsh Goenka,
Ballygunge.

The bus lane is a very good suggestion and we did start such a system. But people started parking their vehicles along the bay, making it difficult for the bus to ply (a prime example is CIT Road from the Kankurgachhi roundabout to Hudco crossing).

Even passengers do not co-operate if a bus sticks to the bay, as it slows the vehicle down. But we will soon be reviving the system on CIT Road and Syed Amir Ali Avenue.

The rest of the points have to be addressed by the PVD and transport department.

— Ranveer Kumar

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Jaywalkers must be fined. At present, you cannot blame them at some points because the pavements have been taken over by government-sponsored hawkers.

— Rajan Advani,
Tiljala Road.

We want citizens to be law- abiding and we did take up a drive to book jaywalkers. But pedestrians should also take measures about their own safety. It is not possible for us to be present everywhere.

— Ranveer Kumar

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A bus driver’s licence should be punched and a fine imposed for the following offences:

Stopping in the middle of the road and picking up passengers between stops

Unnecessary delay at certain stops to pick up passengers, leading to traffic snarls.

Going slow on thoroughfares and forcing other vehicles to overtake, often from the wrong side, endangering pedestrians.

— Swarup Chakraborty

We do book drivers for stopping in the middle of the road and picking up passengers between two stops

We do our best to keep the traffic flowing near bus stops

We cannot book vehicles for going slow.

— Ranveer Kumar

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Speedbreakers must be provided on either side of school gates and all roads must have a speed limit of 40kph. Police must be equipped with electronic speed readers to trap offenders and heavy fines should be imposed on them, including cancellation of licence and imprisonment.

— Rajan Advani

Sergeants are always present in front of schools when they start and give over. There has never been a single accident in front of a school gate.

We are in the process of modernising the traffic police force and the points suggested by the readers will, of course, be considered.

— Ranveer Kumar

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After an accident, the mechanical test undergone by a bus should be conducted by an independent expert or agency appointed by the judiciary. The police are known to give the bus a clean chit for a fee from the bus owner or find a mechanical fault under pressure from the union to shield the bus driver.

— Soumitra Das,
Gariahat

We know that some corrupt policemen are involved in this. We will take stringent action against such cops.

— Ranveer Kumar

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What should the public vehicles department and the transport department do to make our streets safer? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com