TEHRAN — Nary an intercity bus crash occurred during the two-week Iranian New Year [starting on March 21] holidays, Traffic Police Chief Mohammad-Hossein Hamidi has said.

For the first time over the past few years no fatal intercity bus crashes have taken place during the holidays, Fars news agency quoted Hamidi as saying. 

Thanks to a scheme for online monitoring of intercity buses, also known as SEPAHTAN (the Persian acronym for the project), the number of crashes decreased to none at all. 

Under SEPAHTAN scheme, by installing monitoring devices on the roads the buses will be controlled online from a one-kilometer distance so that the police can have access to all their information via GPS including their speed which help them in better regulating the bus drivers’ driving behavior and performance while steering. 

The number of buses plying intercity roads has increased four times over the past 10 years, Hamidi said, stating, with 16,000 buses the number of fatalities has decreased from 543 individuals per year to 200 individuals over the corresponding period. 

He further emphasized the importance of modern technologies in transport sector especially in public transportation which can seriously diminish road accidents. 

MQ/MG