Call Center Cab Crash (Pics...)

Venom_rider · 29th August 2006, 10:52

Hey Guys,

A fellow colleague of mine using the company transport met with an accident in the wee hours of Sunday Morning. He was on his way to work for the 02:00 am shift. Apparently the driver was way too sleepy because he had been driving continuously for anywhere between 36-48hrs!!! Only with 20 mins or so naps in between. The accident happened in one of the lanes off-100ft road in Indiranagar B'lore.

Both the Driver and my friend were extremely lucky to have escaped with only minor injuries. My friend got saved because he was seated in the middle row & behind the driver - WHY HE SAT THERE? WELL.... EVEN HE DOESN'T KNOW!!!!

Thought that I'd share this incident with all you guys so that we can be a bit more alert & the biggest worry: All most all the call center cabbies are stretched and over-worked... I guess its time to take things more seriously and escalate the issue to people within organizations and ensure that they adhere to the 8/9hrs shifts...

karthik247 · 29th August 2006, 10:56

Jeez....thats bad!!! Lucky ur friend and the driver survived that impact. The Sumo seems as a total loss too!

BTW...how did the accident take place. Did the cab run under something?

suman · 29th August 2006, 10:57

Saw one this morning just after the Ghitorni traffic light on MG Road - a Sumo with the front smashed...these guys will never learn.

THANK GOD your friend is safe!

Jay · 29th August 2006, 10:59

Wow thats a bad accident... any idea how it happened ???
Which company does your friend work for ???... good to know he's fine, were there anybody else in the cab ???

kdb · 29th August 2006, 11:06

The same thing happended with my brother coming from Gurgaon on a cab last month.. the driver was overstressed and haven't slept for a long time and smashed the car on the road divider.. ending with the the whole car standing on the road divider with all the tyres on the both sides in air..

Luckily nobody was hurt .. but it is great matter of concern.. the corporates should take stringent action against the cab provider .. but nothing happens.. though my brother complained and he was assured that this driver would not be driving now .. but nothing like that happened..

Venom_rider · 29th August 2006, 11:19

Sorry herez how it happend...

The driver kinda "slept" for about two seconds... lost control of his vehicle and the top of the Sumo hit a branch on the side of the road. Driver was startled & then vehicle criss-crossed on the road & hit another tree before coming to a halt!!!! Pretty incredible huh?!!!

My Friend was feeling really bad for the driver 'cause he broke into tears as soon as the accident happend and started telling his sob stories on how difficult it was being a call center driver...

I am really pissed off with the transport system in the my company at the moment

satish_appasani · 29th August 2006, 11:20

Fortunate your friend is safe. In Hyd, traffic police are pushing corporates to replace Indicas and Qualis with bigger vehicles.

Last week i have seen a BPO Tavera crashed right infront of the company building...and an Indica a week before that.....Is our traffic turning bad to worse with the raise of BPO cabs...

RenuKumar · 29th August 2006, 11:44

I should say that the drivers are overstrained which results in these accidents. I work in a call center and I know how the drivers are treated in the name of cost cutting. They are not allowed to sleep properly.

On the other hand, most of the auto richshaw drivers want to drive a four wheeler in the autowalla style...

Venom_rider · 29th August 2006, 11:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by satish_appasani

Fortunate your friend is safe. In Hyd, traffic police are pushing corporates to replace Indicas and Qualis with bigger vehicles.

Not sure how that's going help except maybe kill more people!!! The solution truly lies in better managing your fleet & avoid "COST-CUTTING" by assigning atleast 2 drivers per cab that runs 24 incessantly...

Boom Shiva · 29th August 2006, 14:09

Sad. The car companies should be penalised for every accident involving their vehicles.

airfoil · 29th August 2006, 15:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venom_rider

Not sure how that's going help

Helps by significantly reducing congestion on our city streets! Wouldn't you love to see the number of Indicabs almost halved?

Sure, this throws up concerns as well, but if it were left to me, I'd prefer to see a major reduction in the 'white autorickshaws'.

jango · 29th August 2006, 16:28

These kind of things are very common in b'lore. The cab driver are literally burned out, ther's no point in blaming them, its the company which needs to act ....Its high time that the police impose rules saying that a driver shoud't be allowed to drive for more than 8 hrs.. These kind of incident also cause a serious threat to others, in this case imagine if the cab would have hit another car instead of a tree..the casualties would have been more for sure...really sad

paharino1 · 29th August 2006, 18:54

I guess it's the Corporates & not the Cab companies & drivers who should take the blame..

Admin departments of all Corporates constantly push all their service providers to get the "lowest cost" -> which for cab companies translates into 24*7 rosters & utilizing more hours from their drivers.

hence the accidents involving tired & overworked cab drivers. Speak to any BPO/ITES cab driver & u can hear their woes

condor · 29th August 2006, 19:50

Cost cutting? Dont understand how.

The company typically has a contract with a transport service company /cab company to provide transport for the employees. The cab company mostly acts more like an agent who gets individual operators under one banner.

The company itself wouldnt have that much control on the particular vehicles / drivers deployed. The only condition I know of that the company puts down is that the vehicles are not more than 3 yrs old.

If there is more than one cab company, there are a few arrangements that operators try to garner - like the favored ones get the shorter routes [minimum payment is guaranteed]. The ones who go a little farther do get additional distance allowance, but the favored ones get relatively more money with lesser running.

If a driver is stressed out that much, there would be something else there, and not a company pushing for continuous operation. Mostly, the company didnt even know that the driver was working without a break. Possibly, this particular driver was not a favored one, or was pushed to do the extra trips.

vincentt · 29th August 2006, 19:57

Hi,
This accident is an unfortunate case and am sure your friend is lucky to be alive. I cannot just only blame the driver for his sleepy nature. It so happens that he sleeps less because he has to be driving more.

Cost cutting should not go down to a level where employees will be cut in these terms. Our company is better I should say, Drivers get adequate rest before/after driving.

But one thing that really bothers me when I sit in our cabs too, is the speed in which they drive. Can some kind of speed limiters be installed in this call centre cabs compulsorily so that they drive no more than 55kmph or some fixed speed deemed the best.

29th August 2006, 10:52	#1
Venom_rider BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 242 Thanked: 256 Times View My Garage	Hey Guys, A fellow colleague of mine using the company transport met with an accident in the wee hours of Sunday Morning. He was on his way to work for the 02:00 am shift. Apparently the driver was way too sleepy because he had been driving continuously for anywhere between 36-48hrs!!! Only with 20 mins or so naps in between. The accident happened in one of the lanes off-100ft road in Indiranagar B'lore. Both the Driver and my friend were extremely lucky to have escaped with only minor injuries. My friend got saved because he was seated in the middle row & behind the driver - WHY HE SAT THERE? WELL.... EVEN HE DOESN'T KNOW!!!! Thought that I'd share this incident with all you guys so that we can be a bit more alert & the biggest worry: All most all the call center cabbies are stretched and over-worked... I guess its time to take things more seriously and escalate the issue to people within organizations and ensure that they adhere to the 8/9hrs shifts...
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 10:56	#2
karthik247 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR, HYD Posts: 2,710 Thanked: 30 Times	Jeez....thats bad!!! Lucky ur friend and the driver survived that impact. The Sumo seems as a total loss too! BTW...how did the accident take place. Did the cab run under something?
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 10:57	#3
suman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kolkata Posts: 4,589 Thanked: 279 Times View My Garage	Saw one this morning just after the Ghitorni traffic light on MG Road - a Sumo with the front smashed...these guys will never learn. THANK GOD your friend is safe!
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 10:59	#4
Jay BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 819 Thanked: 8 Times	Wow thats a bad accident... any idea how it happened ??? Which company does your friend work for ???... good to know he's fine, were there anybody else in the cab ???
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 11:06	#5
kdb BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 36 Thanked: Once	The same thing happended with my brother coming from Gurgaon on a cab last month.. the driver was overstressed and haven't slept for a long time and smashed the car on the road divider.. ending with the the whole car standing on the road divider with all the tyres on the both sides in air.. Luckily nobody was hurt .. but it is great matter of concern.. the corporates should take stringent action against the cab provider .. but nothing happens.. though my brother complained and he was assured that this driver would not be driving now .. but nothing like that happened..
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 11:19	#6
Venom_rider BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 242 Thanked: 256 Times View My Garage	Sorry herez how it happend... The driver kinda "slept" for about two seconds... lost control of his vehicle and the top of the Sumo hit a branch on the side of the road. Driver was startled & then vehicle criss-crossed on the road & hit another tree before coming to a halt!!!! Pretty incredible huh?!!! My Friend was feeling really bad for the driver 'cause he broke into tears as soon as the accident happend and started telling his sob stories on how difficult it was being a call center driver... I am really pissed off with the transport system in the my company at the moment
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 11:20	#7
satish_appasani Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,112 Thanked: 104 Times View My Garage	Fortunate your friend is safe. In Hyd, traffic police are pushing corporates to replace Indicas and Qualis with bigger vehicles. Last week i have seen a BPO Tavera crashed right infront of the company building...and an Indica a week before that.....Is our traffic turning bad to worse with the raise of BPO cabs...
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 11:44	#8
RenuKumar BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 136 Thanked: 109 Times	I should say that the drivers are overstrained which results in these accidents. I work in a call center and I know how the drivers are treated in the name of cost cutting. They are not allowed to sleep properly. On the other hand, most of the auto richshaw drivers want to drive a four wheeler in the autowalla style...
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 14:09	#10
Boom Shiva BANNED Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,055 Thanked: 18 Times	Sad. The car companies should be penalised for every accident involving their vehicles.
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 16:28	#12
jango BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New York & kotayam Posts: 800 Thanked: 23 Times View My Garage	These kind of things are very common in b'lore. The cab driver are literally burned out, ther's no point in blaming them, its the company which needs to act ....Its high time that the police impose rules saying that a driver shoud't be allowed to drive for more than 8 hrs.. These kind of incident also cause a serious threat to others, in this case imagine if the cab would have hit another car instead of a tree..the casualties would have been more for sure...really sad
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 18:54	#13
paharino1 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hyderabad, India Posts: 299 Thanked: 29 Times	I guess it's the Corporates & not the Cab companies & drivers who should take the blame.. Admin departments of all Corporates constantly push all their service providers to get the "lowest cost" -> which for cab companies translates into 24*7 rosters & utilizing more hours from their drivers. hence the accidents involving tired & overworked cab drivers. Speak to any BPO/ITES cab driver & u can hear their woes
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 19:50	#14
condor Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Speed-brkr City Posts: 15,864 Thanked: 16,014 Times View My Garage	Cost cutting? Dont understand how. The company typically has a contract with a transport service company /cab company to provide transport for the employees. The cab company mostly acts more like an agent who gets individual operators under one banner. The company itself wouldnt have that much control on the particular vehicles / drivers deployed. The only condition I know of that the company puts down is that the vehicles are not more than 3 yrs old. If there is more than one cab company, there are a few arrangements that operators try to garner - like the favored ones get the shorter routes [minimum payment is guaranteed]. The ones who go a little farther do get additional distance allowance, but the favored ones get relatively more money with lesser running. If a driver is stressed out that much, there would be something else there, and not a company pushing for continuous operation. Mostly, the company didnt even know that the driver was working without a break. Possibly, this particular driver was not a favored one, or was pushed to do the extra trips.
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 19:57	#15
vincentt BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 70 Thanked: Once	Unfortunate but lucky to be alive!!! Hi, This accident is an unfortunate case and am sure your friend is lucky to be alive. I cannot just only blame the driver for his sleepy nature. It so happens that he sleeps less because he has to be driving more. Cost cutting should not go down to a level where employees will be cut in these terms. Our company is better I should say, Drivers get adequate rest before/after driving. But one thing that really bothers me when I sit in our cabs too, is the speed in which they drive. Can some kind of speed limiters be installed in this call centre cabs compulsorily so that they drive no more than 55kmph or some fixed speed deemed the best. Last edited by vincentt : 29th August 2006 at 19:59.
	() Thanks