Traffic was disrupted for over two hours on 100 feet road in Koyambedu and adjoining roads on Wednesday, after MTC bus drivers clashed with two motorists following a minor argument. Police officers and senior MTC officials had to intervene to settle the issue, as motorists caught in the middle, were being put to hardship.
According to Koyambedu police, the tussle began around 2.30 p.m. when Shankar (23), the driver of MTC bus 27 B, tried to take a turn into the Koyembu bus terminus and almost knocked down a two-wheeler. Moorthy (28), a waiter of a city hotel was riding the two-wheeler, and his friend Manivannan (25) was seated pillion.
The two men got into an argument with the driver and assaulted him. Shankar immediately alerted his colleagues on his mobile phone and other buses in and around the area, halted. A group of MTC staff members assaulted the two men and later staged a protest demanding the two be arrested.
Traffic chaos prevailed in the area, as MTC drivers stopped buses at many locations in protest. Koyambedu police arrested Moorthy and Manivannan, but that did not pacify the protestors.
MTC union-bearers and senior staff members finally managed to resolve the issue around 5 p.m. Traffic was restored to normality soon after, but several motorists had by then borne the brunt of the chaos, police added.
Keywords: chennai traffic, traffic jam, road safety, road accident
Auto rickshaw drivers and MTC bus drivers,both are a big problem on the roads.First they drive rashly,they break rules,then they cause accidents,with scant regard to other road users,and after all this will cause blockades if their colleagues are questioned.They are like cannons let loose on the roads.And they cannot/will not be curbed or punished.I had seen a bunch of Auto drivers blocking the road in front of Kodambakkam railway station,just chatting,when honked and asked to move,they got so angry,they started banging on the car and also followed me to a distance of about a kilometer,attacking the car,I dont know intending to do what?? This is the kind of culture on the roads of Chennai.And I would definitely not go to the cops for this as the Auto drivers have a big union and would create a nuisance.
Almost all road users disregard and barge into other road user's space leading to these type of instances. Unless there is some level of discipline in driving, such instances will never be history. Drivers of big vehicles can actually enforce discipline by standing behind the stop-line of signals and driving at steady speed limits prescribed by the traffic laws. If a two-wheeler driver stops at the stop-line he is easily forced to keep moving until the road junction by other road users; which cannot be easily done against a heavy vehicle.
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