A recent survey, Status of Truck Drivers in India-2020 by SaveLIFE Foundation, has revealed that 97.5 per cent of the truck drivers in Guwahati pay bribes to traffic and highway police during their sorties.

The report revealed that 97.5 per cent of the respondents (truck drivers) in Guwahati admitted to paying bribe to traffic or highway police as compared to nearly 67 per cent of the respondents nationwide. The average bribe paid to traffic/highway police nationwide is Rs 849 while in Guwahati, the average about paid as bribe is Rs 1,608. Nine of 10 truck drivers claimed that they paid bribe to certain local groups as well.

After paying the bribe at a specific checkpoint, 10.7 per cent drivers said they had to pay bribe at the next checkpoint while around 67.8 per cent claimed that they (the police and drivers) kept a “receipt” for each month.

The study said 9.9 per cent drivers claimed that a specific code was written on their hands by the personnel on duty after they had paid the money.

It said 88 per cent of the respondents in Guwahati said they have not undergone a driving test before procuring a licence, compared to 37.5 per cent of the respondents nationwide.

Along with that, 99 per cent claimed that that they have not undergone any formal truck driver’s training before taking up the profession compared to 92 per cent of the respondents nationwide.

Seventy-one per cent said they were not satisfied with their profession.

SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF) is a non-profit, non-government organisation.

It combines strong research, including onsite crash investigation with interventions across policy advocacy and on-ground interventions to save lives on India’s roads.