Kurla BEST bus crash: Driver was given JUST five minutes' training, reveals probe

Sanjay More, the driver of the electric bus involved in the December 9 mishap, being produced in Kurla court on December 10. File pic

Inadequate training and muscle memory of conventional vehicles are what bedevilled BEST bus driver Sanjay More on the night of December 9, leading to the freak accident in Kurla, according to investigators. They also claimed More had only received about five minutes' training in handling an electric vehicle before being assigned the ill-fated bus route. Police officers revealed that on his first day in police custody, More was too shaken to speak about the incident.

A senior police officer privy to the investigation told mid-day that More, who is responsible for the loss of seven lives, had 33 years' experience in driving a mini-bus. However, on December 1, he was assigned an EV. "As he was a dab hand at operating mini-buses, his muscle memory seems to have overpowered his brain," an officer revealed.

The site of accident involving an out-of-control BEST bus in which seven lives were lost at Kurla West on Monday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

"He is a common man with no history of crime. When taken to court, he was blindfolded, which made him feel guilty. But the next day, he spilled the beans. He has been consistent about how he simply lost control of the vehicle," said a senior police officer.

He continued, "Speaking about his training process at the Dindoshi bus depot, he revealed how he was told to take a couple of rounds that lasted less than 5 to 10 minutes immediately after which he was assigned EV bus duty." The bus manufacturer, Olectra Greentech, had claimed that More had trained for three days before he began driving the vehicle.

"On the day of the incident, More took a couple of rounds before picking up passengers from the Kurla depot; apparently, it was like a practice session. This clearly indicates the training process was inadequate. Now we will be speaking to BEST officials and More's superiors to find out what went wrong," the official added.

Another angle which is being looked at by the police team investigating the matter is how More's muscle memory took over, if that was indeed the case. Explaining the same, the police officer said, "I saw the CCTV footage of the accident from the inside-of-the-bus POV which evidently shows how the bus was speeding for at least 30 to 50 seconds before it crashed. Technically, it takes less than 10 seconds to navigate a critical driving situation for someone with decades of experience driving buses, which did not happen in this case. The question is why and that's the answer we are looking for."

About muscle memory

Sudhir Badami, a civil engineer and transportation expert, explains how muscle memory comes into play for someone who has been performing the same activity for several years. "This activity becomes second nature to you. In situations of panic, where the brain stops working - or, one could say, goes to sleep - muscle memory is activated. To avoid such situations, one needs to unlearn the activity before learning something new, and mental training plays a key role," said Badami.

Explaining further, he said, "While it is not impossible to become well-trained in driving an automatic EV, it all depends on the amount of time spent and quality of training the individual undergoes." Discussing the challenges faced by manual drivers, he highlighted how they instinctively reach for a non-existent gear lever or clutch, along with adapting to the new braking system.

"The absence of a gear lever feels awkward for new EV drivers, while the braking system feels abrupt. In manual systems, control depends on the pressure applied by the driver, rather than a single button. The same applies to speed control. The basic transition to an automatic EV may take weeks, but a more extensive training period is crucial for overall safety," explained Badami, an IIT Bombay graduate in Civil and Structural Engineering.