Bengaluru’s auto, cab drivers’ screen addiction raise alarm over road safety

Commuters successful Bengaluru are raising interest implicit the expanding instances of autorickshaw and cab drivers utilizing their mobile phones to ticker videos, movies, oregon adjacent reels portion ferrying passengers. Such a risky mode of driving has triggered wide interest implicit the information of commuters and different motorists sharing the road. Passengers said that galore drivers were seen operating their vehicles and utilizing their mobile phones simultaneously, with their attraction getting distracted betwixt the roadworthy and the screen. In respective instances, drivers are recovered playing YouTube videos oregon reels, portion a tiny information of the surface displays Google Maps for navigation, they said. “When passengers question them, they rapidly power to maps and assertion they are utilizing it lone for directions,” said Jairaj M., a regular commuter from Peenya. “I person had aggregate experiences wherever drivers were watching videos portion driving. Some were scrolling done reels oregon YouTube. When I told them it was unsafe, they opened maps and said they were utilizing it for navigation. It feels precise unsafe sitting down idiosyncratic who is hardly looking astatine the road,” helium added. The interest is not constricted to car and cab passengers. Even those utilizing motorcycle taxis person raised alarms. Shailesh Kumar, a predominant motorcycle taxi idiosyncratic from Whitefield, recalled a caller incident: “A fewer days ago, my motorcycle taxi rider was watching YouTube portion riding. He kept applying abrupt brakes and adjacent shouted astatine different bikers. It was terrifying. This is simply a precise unsafe trend. The constabulary indispensable publication strict cases against specified people. They are putting not lone their passengers’ lives astatine risk, but besides of others connected the road. Authorities should power this earlier it becomes worse.”

Rajesh K., who travels regular from Koramangala to Outer Ring Road, added: the inclination seems to beryllium spreading fast. “Drivers present unfastened multi-window screens fractional video, fractional map. My cab drivers wouldn’t adjacent perceive erstwhile I asked him to stop. I complained to the aggregator, but thing happened. Earlier, this was seen much among car drivers, but present adjacent cab drivers are doing it. I spot mundane autos, cabs, and adjacent a fewer non taxi car drivers utilizing phones portion driving. Listening to euphony oregon podcasts is fine, but actively watching videos portion driving? That’s an unfastened invitation for disaster. This is becoming an epidemic.”

Acknowledging the increasing problem, Bengaluru Traffic Police officials said that they are conducting peculiar drives to penalise offenders. “Earlier, drivers utilized phones for calls oregon navigation. But now, we find galore radical watching movies oregon unrecorded streams adjacent portion driving passengers. This is highly dangerous. We person been booking cases done peculiar enforcement drives and penalising them,” an authoritative said.

According to constabulary data, 34,303 cases were registered betwixt January and September 2025 against motorists for utilizing mobile phones portion driving.

Drivers’ national urges restraint

The Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union (ARDU) has acknowledged the problem, but urged the nationalist not to generalise. T.M. Rudramurthy, wide caput of the ARDU successful Bengaluru, said, “We are alert that a fewer drivers are misusing mobile phones portion connected duty, but it is incorrect to statement each drivers arsenic irresponsible. Many of america trust connected apps for bookings and maps for navigation. Still, we are creating consciousness successful our groups astir the risks of distracted driving. We perpetually counsel members not to usage phones for amusement erstwhile passengers are connected board.”

None of the aggregators responded to mails seeking a response.

Stronger enforcement needed

Transport adept M.N. Srihari said that contempt existing penalties, anemic enforcement has allowed the inclination to grow. “Watching videos portion driving is not conscionable irresponsible, it’s a signifier of deliberate negligence that endangers lives. The authorities indispensable dainty this arsenic earnestly arsenic drunken driving,” helium said. He recommended that the constabulary behaviour random checks connected autos and cabs to verify telephone usage patterns. “Officers tin easy inspect the presently moving apps oregon caller telephone logs to find whether a operator is utilizing navigation oregon amusement apps. Once caught, licences should beryllium suspended immediately,” helium said. Mr. Srihari further said that radical indispensable study specified incidents done societal media platforms oregon straight to the postulation police. “Bengaluru has a responsive integer ailment strategy passengers should usage it to emblem specified violations. The much complaints authorities receive, the stronger the enforcement volition become,” helium added.