Breath analyser compulsory for drivers travelling on longer routes in UP

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The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday said it has accepted recommendations of a committee formed after the Yamuna Expressway accident for breath analyser test of drivers travelling on longer routes.

Twenty-nine people were killed and 18 others injured when their bus veered off the Yamuna Expressway and plunged into a deep drain on July 8.

"We have accepted the recommendation of the committee formed after the Yamuna expressway incident that breath analyser test of long routes be conducted," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said.

He was replying to a question in state legislative assembly.

When asked about the reasons which led to the accident, Khanna said nothing concrete could be said about the state in which the driver was at that time.

"The bus before falling into gorge ran 50 metres. The steering of vehicle should have been turned, which was not. Nothing could exactly be said about the state of the driver as the post-mortem report says he died due to drowning," the minister said.

He said the duty of the bus driver on that fateful day was scheduled as per norms.

"He had joined after three days of leave and took the bus at 11 pm on the route on which he had gone earlier as well. As per the norm, a long route driver is put on eight-hour duty and half-an-hour rest after five-hour travel. In a week, drivers working hours are fixed at 54 hours," Khanna said.

According to the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) officials, it has been recommended to use breath analyser on each driver before and after completion of every trip.

The corporation officials are in the process to equip 286 government-run bus stations in the state with breath analysers.

Any bus driver found drunk during checking will be suspended immediately while contractual drivers will be removed from the service on the spot, the officials said.

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