RTO probe exposes multiple violations by sleeper bus

Lucknow: A Regional Transport Office (RTO) probe into the fatal sleeper bus accident on the Purvanchal Expressway revealed that the vehicle was operating in blatant violation of multiple safety and regulatory norms.According to a complaint filed by assistant regional transport officer (Enforcement-II) Alok Kumar Yadav at Gosainganj police station, the accident took place around 4 pm when the bus overturned due to alleged rash driving.
The driver and conductor fled the scene without assisting passengers, violating mandatory provisions under the Motor Vehicles Act. The probe found that the bus was heavily overloaded, carrying nearly 80 passengers against its permitted capacity of 48 (16 sleeper berths and 32 seats). Officials also flagged serious structural violations. The bus was illegally modified in breach of AIS-52 and AIS-119 safety standards, with the unauthorised addition of sleeper berths. The rear section was blocked with extra structures, effectively sealing emergency exit points and trapping passengers inside after the vehicle overturned. The RTO investigation further revealed the permit and tax irregularities. The bus did not have valid authorisation to operate in Uttar Pradesh. No state tax was deposited prior to the journey; records show that a one-day tax was hastily paid on the day of the accident itself, indicating deliberate evasion and violation of Section 66(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act. The bus was operating with only a single driver for a journey of nearly 1,360 km from Punjab to Bihar, in clear violation of safety norms that mandate two drivers for long-distance travel. As per regulations, a driver must take a minimum 45-minute break after every 4.5 hours of driving, along with at least 3 hours of rest within a 14-hour duty period. Preliminary findings indicate that these norms were not followed. Despite this, all documents appeared to be in order, exposing systemic lapses. The vehicle accumulated 67 pending challans, none of which were paid, yet it continued to operate freely.