Imagine driving a bus on a regular basis for nearly three decades without a single accident!
Having to cope with the growing number of vehicles and varied behaviour and driving habits of motorists makes it a herculean task even for the most accomplished drivers.
“I have two more years of service left and I am confident of bagging more awards. The steep growth in vehicular traffic does not worry me but motorists, particularly youngsters, breaking traffic rules and racing ahead on their motorcycles is a cause for concern,” says D.A. Naidu, who has not had a single accident during his 29-year stint as a driver in the RTC.
No wonder he has bagged 10 awards so far and was ranked first among the drivers in Visakhapatnam Region this year. “I have been working with the Waltair Depot since 1983 and do not have a single adverse remark from the officials during my career. The awards are a great motivation for me,” he says.
His colleague from the same depot B.A. Rao was chosen the second best driver in the region for putting in accident-free service of 29 years, with a slight variation of some months.
He has bagged awards consecutively for the last three years and is free from vices like alcohol and khaini.
“Safety should be the watchword of all motorists and unless all road users adhere to the traffic rules, accidents cannot be ruled out,” feels Mr. Rao.
Y.N. Rao of Simhachalam Depot, who secured the third best driver award in the region, has put in 28 years of accident-free service.
As many as nine drivers of Visakhapatnam Region of APSRTC have achieved that unique distinction of putting in ‘accident-free’ service ranging between 25 to 30 years and bagged the top three awards at the ‘depot’ and ‘regional’ level.
Felicitated
They were felicitated by the Deputy Transport Commissioner in charge Md. Saleem and RTC Vizianagaram Zone Executive Director A. Ramakrishna at a function organised as part of the Road Safety Week celebrations recently.
At the Depot level, M.R. Raju, S.K. Hussain and A.V.S.N. Murthy (Visakhapatnam Depot), who put in 25, 25 and 23 years respectively secured the first, second and third places respectively. M.L. Narayana, P.V.V. Narayana and E.P. Raju (Maddilapalem Depot) secured the first, second and third places respectively for putting in 28, 25 and 25 years of ‘accident-free’ service.
“We have 412 drivers in our region who have put in four or more years of accident-free driving and I want all drivers to get awards,” says Regional Manager Y. Jagadeesh Babu.
May their tribe increase.
