BEST bus crash: CCTV footage reveals final moments; safety measures tightened

CCTV camera footages on board the BEST bus that mowed down seven persons in Mumbai’s Kurla on Monday (December 9) evening show the driver, Sanjay More, collecting two backpacks from the cabin and jumping out of a broken window after the accident.

Four to five video clips with a duration of 50 seconds to 1.04 seconds went viral on social media on Wednesday. The visuals show passengers panicking as the electric vehicle ran amok hitting vehicles and pedestrians on Monday night on a busy street in Kurla (West).

Final moments of crash

Some passengers tried to tightly grip the poles and grab handles, while others rose from their seats to fathom what was happening on the streets as the bus moved forward. After the bus swerved to a halt, several passengers jumped out of the shattered windows.

A clip shows More (54) coming out of the bus cabin holding two black backpacks, and jumping out of a broken window on the left side of the bus.

The bus conductor got off through the rear side door.

Also read: BEST bus crash | Need to probe if driver used vehicle as a ‘weapon’: Mumbai police

What happened in Kurla?

The out-of-control electric bus operated by the civic-run BEST undertaking rammed into pedestrians and vehicles on SG Barve Marg in Kurla West around 9.30 pm on Monday.

Besides killing seven persons and injuring 42 others, including four on-duty policemen, the accident also wrecked 22 vehicles.

The driver was arrested for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He was remanded in police custody till December 21.

Mystery over reason of crash

Initially, it was suspected that More had consumed alcohol. It was also suspected that the brakes of the bus had failed due to which it rammed into vehicles and pedestrians before crashing into a housing society wall.

After an inspection, RTO officials, however, said the brakes were working fine and the accident may have been caused by the lack of proper training to the driver in steering electric buses.

According to details that have emerged so far, More had no experience in driving electric vehicles and had undergone only a ten-day training for steering EVs.

Also read: Human error, lack of training likely behind BEST bus accident: RTO officials

Breathalyser tests to be mandatory

However, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has now decided to make breathalyser tests mandatory for drivers. Officials on Wednesday met private operators who supply buses to government agencies and affirmed to focus on driver training and taking extra safety steps.

At the meetings, the private operators were asked to provide details of training given to drivers, their appointment criteria, training infrastructure and modules, officials said.

Top officials of BEST and the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) presided over these meetings. Another meeting was held between senior BEST officials and the Maharashtra transport commissioner.

The transport commissioner directed BEST to conduct internal investigation and submit a report, which will be sent to the state government, an official said.

Arrangement for BEST buses

Under the wet lease model, the responsibility of providing drivers and carrying out maintenance of hired buses remains with private contractors. State-run transport bodies, on their part, pay them a specific amount for the buses.

MSRTC chairman Bharat Gogawale conducted his meeting at the state-run transport body's headquarters at Mumbai Central, while BEST general manager Anilkumar Diggikar met private bus operators at the civic-run body’s headquarters at Colaba.

Diggikar told PTI that representatives of all five private operators who have provided buses to BEST under the wet lease model were present at the meeting. Members of the committee appointed by BEST to investigate the Kurla accident were also in attendance.

Also read: Mumbai: 7 dead, 42 hurt as BEST bus driver loses control; brake failure suspected

Uniformity in driver training

“We are bringing uniformity in driver training, involving both on-wheel and simulation training, and also making breath analyser test (which measures amount of alcohol in blood) mandatory for every driver,” Diggikar said.

He said at the meeting they tried to understand what kind of training each operator provides to their drivers and asked them to submit in writing what improvement they are going to bring to their current programme.

Their inputs will be analysed and then discussed with in-field experts, and directives will be given for a uniform training programme next week, the BEST general manager said.

Three-point programme

In a release issued after the meeting, MSRTC said the corporation will focus on a three-point programme — training drivers, making their mental health strong, and inducting technically faultless buses in its fleet.

The state-run body said currently it gives six-month-long refresher training to its drivers and inducts them in service after taking a test.

Electric bus manufacturing companies Olectra and Greencell have supplied AC luxury buses to MSRTC. The corporation ferries around 55 lakh passengers across Maharashtra daily with the help of its fleet of nearly 15,000 buses, including wet-leased electric vehicles of private operators.

(With agency inputs)