Training for heavy vehicle drivers stressed

KOCHI: A research on the driving pattern of heavy vehicle drivers would help bring down road accidents in the state, M N Prabhakaran, joint director, Institute of Drivers Training and Research, has said.He said the institute had conducted training to about 5,000 drivers in the district.Though the training is for one day, it made a lot of difference in the attitude of the drivers and had helped in bringing down the mishaps in the district, he said.An institute coming up at Edappal in a sprawling 25 acre land would help improve the activities of the institute.Under the inititative of the Tipper Lorry Association, the drivers had attended the training programme, he said.Still the government has not made the programme compulsory for drivers. Once it is made mandatory, the drivers would benefit considerably from it, he said.He said that overspeeding was prohibited only in city limits while the vehicles could go at a permissible speed in open highways.Meanwhile, Victor, secretary, All-Kerala Tipper Lorry and Earth Moving Equipment Owners Association said the training was very beneficial to the owners.He said the training should be made a three-day affair so that the drivers can make the maximum out of it. He said the drivers in Perumbavoor region were currently undergoing training.