The directives carry deadlines ranging from 15 days to six months
The directives carry deadlines ranging from 15 days to six months. On private bus operations, the court directed the transport commissioner to convene a meeting of all stakeholders within 60 days, including the Association of Private Bus Owners, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, regional transport officers and other competent technical bodies. Kochi : The high court has ordered a comprehensive revamp of the state’s road safety system, issuing a series of time-bound directives on road design and maintenance, private bus operations, driver profiling, black spots and emergency response. The court also ordered the creation of a technology-driven Integrated Road Safety Monitoring Platform to enable real-time monitoring of road safety issues and better coordination among agencies. A bench of justices V Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar was considering a petition filed by Clemance Thottappilly of Chalakudy, alleging the failure of the state to put in place effective measures to prevent road accidents. Considering the matter, the court identified overspeeding, dangerous driving, overloading of heavy and goods vehicles, failure to rectify identified black spots within a fixed timeframe, unscientific timing of private bus operations, defects and delays in highway construction, and illegal parking as major factors contributing to fatal accidents. GPS-based time-and-motion studies are to be conducted on major private bus routes, beginning with Ernakulam and Kozhikode, to scientifically determine viable running times based on road width, traffic density, number of stops, speed limits and road geometry. The court also directed the setting up of a centralised driver profiling system covering public and heavy vehicle drivers.