A counselling session for autorickshaw drivers was conducted by the city traffic police on Saturday.
Police Commissioner Amit Garg had expressed the view that traffic violations by auto drivers was contributing to the growth of accidents in the city. The traffic police warned the auto drivers of levying hefty fine for traffic violations like sudden application of brakes and overloading their vehicles.
ADCP (Traffic) K.M. Patrudu and ACPs (Traffic) K. Prabhakar and M. Srinivas spoke about the efforts being made to reduce accidents and instructed auto drivers to invariably wear uniform and carry the documents with them.
They warned of severe action against the drivers if they indulged in drunken driving, applying sudden brakes, stopping vehicles right on the road, and blocking half the road. The police said that 30,000 autos were plying on the city roads and despite their advice many drivers were allowing passengers to sit on either side of the driver’s seat.
As most of the drivers were either illiterate or semi-literate, they should follow the instructions of the police and other officials and adopt safe driving practices. On the increasing involvement of auto drivers in crimes, the police officials said severe action would be initiated against those who support criminal activities.
The police officials advised auto trade union leaders to inculcate discipline among their members to follow traffic norms strictly for the safety of the passengers.