Chennai cops talk to ‘footboard heroes’

The move comes in the wake of an accident on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, last week, that left four footboard travellers dead. Photo: K. Pichumani

‘Footboard heroes are zeroes in real life’ and ‘if you climb steps, you will succeed, but those who hang on it, will meet with failure’. The Chennai traffic police aim to deter students and others from travelling on bus footboards with these words.

On Monday, they distributed pamphlets to MTC commuters and conducted awareness campaigns in school, against the practice of footboard travelling. The campaign will continue till end of the month.

Last Monday, four students travelling on the footboard of a bus were crushed to death in an accident involving a lorry on Rajiv Gandhi Salai.

To create awareness on the dangers of footboard travelling, the traffic police units across the city have been asked to distribute pamphlets in areas that come under their respective jurisdictions.

“We are also conducting awareness campaigns in schools. Traffic policemen will also inform school authorities about their students caught travelling on the footboard,” said a senior police officer.

In accidents that took place in 2012 alone, 17 persons died and 51 suffered injuries due to footboard travelling. Meanwhile, many MTC deluxe buses continue to ply with open doors.

“Despite the accident, there seems to be little awareness among bus crew. The automatic doors continue to remain open. But, there seems to be a slight decrease in the number of students hanging by the footboard,” said Ezhilazhagan, a commuter on route 29C.