Madurai being a major tourist destination visited by a lot of domestic and foreign tourists every day, autorickshaw drivers should guarantee a safe ride for them and help in the growth of tourism, said Collector Anshul Mishra.
Addressing a road safety awareness seminar for autorickshaw drivers in the city on Saturday, he said that a vast majority of the drivers had no idea about safe driving. They stopped the autorickshaws at will all of a sudden without an iota of consideration for fellow road users who were caught unawares.
Since many autorickshaws did not have rear view mirrors, overtaking, taking ‘U’ turns and left and right turns by the drivers proved dangerous and led to accidents. These were details shared by many on the district administration’s Facebook page. Stating that the objective of the seminar was to ensure accident-free city roads for pedestrians and motorists, Mr. Mishra asked the drivers to compulsorily have rear view mirrors on both sides of their vehicle. Footage on how accidents occurred owing to unsafe driving was shown. The Collector asked the drivers to follow rules and said that certificates would be given to best drivers.
Later, the autorickshaw drivers were administered a pledge that they would never consume alcohol while on duty and ensure safety of passengers and pedestrians. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) R. Thirunavukkarasu was present with the Collector.
Meditation, yogasanas and first-aid demonstrations were done by Narasimha Mani of Driving Needs Academy through audio-visual aids. Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry sponsored the event. Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) Magudapathy, Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) Tallakulam Ellapparaj and Regional Transport Officers participated in the seminar.
