Special training to be made compulsory for passenger transport vehicle drivers
View(s):With the purpose of reducing the rapidly increasing accidents caused by passenger transport vehicles, a special training is to be made compulsory for drivers of SLTB and private buses, motor coaches as well as school vans when issuing licences to them,Comissioner General of Motor Traffic S.H. Harischandra told the Business Times.
Regulation to amend the criteria of issuing the licence for drivers of passenger transport vehicles under the Motor Traffic Act has already been approved.
A new set of guidelines which is compulsory when issuing licence to public transport drivers will be implemented with effect from January next year, he disclosed. Under these guidelines, no holder of a licence for any class or classes of vehicles shall drive a motor coach as a public service vehicle unless he is authorised by a special endorsement by the Commissioner General under Section 128A of the Act, Mr. Harischandra added.
The driver must also prove to the satisfaction of the Commissioner General that “he/she is a person aged between 23 and 65 years and should posses two years driving experience after obtaining a regular driving licence for a motor coach”.
Drivers of passenger transport vehicles should also complete a first-aid course conducted by the National Transport Medical Institute or any other institution authorised in writing by the Commissioner General and complete a training course conducted by an institution authorised in writing by him.
According to the Commissioner, an endorsement would be made on the driving licences of drivers who undergo this particular training. He disclosed that two letters ‘PT’ (Passenger Transportation) will be embossed on the driving licence of those who have undergone the training.