Medicines well past their expiry dates or the bus crew’s personal articles were found in the first aid boxes of most private buses in a recent inspection by the Motor Vehicles Department officials.
Law mandates that buses maintain a proper first aid box. However, in the flash checking, officials found that few buses maintained one. Most buses had old, empty boxes.
Most of the drivers who were held responsible for the violation argued that the medicine boxes were ‘useless’ as travellers would not use the medicines in case of accidents. They contended that it would not be fair to enforce a facility which was overlooked even by the passengers.
Fines were slapped on 27 bus drivers for not maintaining proper first aid boxes.
The inspection, held following a directive from the Transport Commissioner in the Malabar region, was led by Regional Transport Officer (Enforcement) Thulaseedharan Pillai.
Deputy Transport Commissioner Rajeev Puthalath, who coordinated the drive, said the department would enforce the rule strictly. “Violators have to pay a fine of Rs.100,” he said. Mr. Puthalath said the department could not endorse the bus operators’ argument that passengers would not use the medicines kept in the boxes. “In addition to medicines, the boxes are supposed to carry bandages, cotton and antiseptic lotions, which will be surely sought by travellers in the event of mishaps,” he said.
Though the drivers were found reluctant to maintain first aid boxes, most of them seem to have wholeheartedly embraced modern stereo systems and video screening facilities, flouting the MVD rules.
Thirty-two bus drivers were booked for fixing unpermitted video and audio entertainment systems in vehicles, officials said.
