Section 22 in The West Bengal Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989
22. Conduct and duties of drivers of public service vehicles.
- In addition to the duties prescribed under rule 21(1), the driver of a public service vehicle -(a)shall not cause or allow any person, animal or thing to be placed or to be in the space reserved for the driver's seat in such a way as to impede the driver in having a clear vision of the road or proper control of the vehicle;(b)shall not shout in order to attract a passenger or behave in a manner likely to cause annoyance to any female passenger:(c)shall, subject to any rules or regulations in force prohibiting the taking up or setting down of passengers at, or except at certain specified places, bring the vehicle to rest for a sufficient period of time in a safe and convenient position upon the demand or signal of the conductor or of any passenger desiring to alight from the vehicle and, unless there is no room in the vehicle, upon the demand or signal of any person desiring to become a passenger;(d)shall not, bringing his vehicle to rest for the purpose of picking up or setting down any passenger at or near the place where another public service vehicle is at rest for the same purpose, drive the vehicle so as to endanger, inconvenience or interfere with the driver or the conductor or the other vehicle or any person boarding or preparing to board therein or alighting therefrom, and shall bring his vehicle to rest in front of or behind the other vehicle and on the left hand side of the road or place;(e)shall, as far as may be reasonably possible having regard to his duties, be responsible for the due observance of the provisions of the Act and of these rules;(f)shall not smoke or be drunk or under the influence of a drug while on duty;(g)shall behave in a civil and orderly manner to passengers and intending passengers;(h)shall be cleanly dressed and in the manner in which the licensing or the Regional Transport Authority may specify;(i)shall maintain the vehicle in a clean and sanitary condition;(j)shall not solicit customers save in a civil and quiet manner:(k)shall not interfere with persons boarding or preparing to board upon any other vehicle;(l)shall not allow any person or passenger to be carried in any public service vehicles in excess of the seating capacity specified in the certificate of registration of the vehicle and any additional number of passengers permitted under the terms of the permit, to be carried standing in the vehicle;(m)shall not, save for good and sufficient reason, refuse to carry any person tending the legal fare;(n)shall, where goods are carried on the vehicle in addition to passengers, take all reasonable precautions to ensure that passengers are not endangered or unduly inconvenienced because of such load of goods;(o)shall not, save for good and sufficient reason, require any person who has paid the legal fare, to alight from the vehicle before the conclusion of his journey;(p)shall not loiter or unduly delay upon any journey, but shall proceed to his destination as nearly as may be in accordance with the time-table pertaining to the vehicle or, where there is no such time-table, with all reasonable dispatch;(q)shall, in the event of a stage carriage being unable to proceed to its destination on account of mechanical breakdown or other cause beyond the control of the driver or the conductor, arrange to convey the passengers to their destination in some other similar vehicle or, if unable to so arrange within a period of half an hour after the failure of the vehicle, shall on demand refund to each passenger a proper proportion of the fare relating to the completion of the journey for which the passenger had paid the fare:(r)shall not, in the case of a stage carriage, cause or allow anything to be placed in the vehicle in such a manner as to obstruct the entry or exit of passengers;(s)shall not permit the public service vehicle to be used for an illegal or immoral purpose;(t)shall not permit any petrol or diesel to be filled into the tank while the engine is in operation, and where the vehicle is licensed for the conveyance of more than six passengers on hire, while any passenger remains in the vehicle:(u)shall not permit persons in and engaged in connection with the vehicle to smoke while the vehicle is being refuelled;(v)shall not permit the carriage of any petroleum or explosives in the vehicle provided that this prohibition shall not extend to the petroleum contained in the fuel tank incorporated in the conveyance or such other quantity of petroleum, not exceeding 91 litres, as may be carried in the vehicle securely in closed tins in a specially prepared receptacle which is not accessible to the passengers and is not on the roof;(w)shall not carry or allow any person to seat or allow any goods to be placed on the right side of the driver and when the vehicle is fitted with right hand steering control and on the left side of the driver of the vehicle with left hand steering control;(x)shall during the course of journey, if the conductor absents himself due to some emergency or sickness, perform the duties of the conductor;(y)shall be responsible for proper exhibition or production or maintenance of the following documents. as the case may be :-(i)part of the permit or temporary permit issued to the vehicle,(ii)certificate of insurance,(iii)certificate of registration,(iv)certificate of fitness,(v)tax token,(vi)driving/conductor licence,(vii)first aid box,(viii)an inflated extra tyre,(ix)tools boxes including jacks, etc.(z)shall not allow any passenger to travel on the roof, or on the foot boards or on the steps of carriage of any public service vehicle, meant for exit or entrance of passengers, when such vehicle is in motion or in any manner whereby any parts of his body protrudes outside the body of such vehicle;(aa)shall not smoke or indulge in smoking when the vehicle is in motion thereby creating inconvenience to the other passengers or causing risk of accident in contravention of the prohibition of Smoking in Passengers Vehicle Act, 1953 (West Bengal Act XVI of 1953);(bb)shall know to read, speak and understand the local language;(cc)shall have a good knowledge of topography of the State, specially that of [Kolkata] [Substituted vide section 5 of the West Bengal Capital City (Change of Name) Act, 2001 (West Bengal Act 18 of 2001) (w.r.e.f. 1.1.2001) for the word 'Calcutta'.], 24-Parganas, Howrah and Darjeeling district;(dd)shall sign the garage register recording thereon the date and timings of taking out and returning back the vehicle from the garage.
