Tirupur: The technical experts of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) have said that the impact of the Avinashi bus-lorry accident was increased manifold due to the high speed of the heavy vehicles.
Nineteen people were killed after the container lorry rammed the KSRTC bus at Avinashi in the Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu during the wee hours of Thursday.
The weight of the KSRTC Volvo bus is seven tonnes, and the maximum speed during the time of the accident could have been 70kmph. The 35-tonne container lorry, travelling at a speed of 100kmph, rammed the bus. This would have created the impact of a 3,500-tonne-heavy object hitting against 490 tonnes.
The Garuda King Class AC bus of the KSRTC is the most-sought after by Keralites in Bengaluru. With its entire right portion wrecked in the accident, the bus wore a desolate look on the Salem-Kochi National Highway.
Sleepless drivers
The police suspects that the horrific accident was caused after the driver of the container lorry fell asleep at the wheels. After the driver lost control of the vehicle, the lorry jumped over the median strip to enter the opposite lane and rammed the bus.
Both the Tamil Nadu and Kerala Police report that majority of the accidents happen on the National Highways due to drivers falling asleep during the journey. There are reports that drivers of heavy vehicles such as container trucks are made to work continuously without proper rest or sleep.
Some drivers are forced to drive without adequate rest for five days on the trot. Nor is our government machinery equipped to check if the long-distance vehicles have adequate number of drivers and whether they are able to take proper rest.
How it happened
Illustrations by Munas Siddique:
The Kerala-bound KSRTC bus coming from Salem. The container lorry heading to Salem on the opposite lane.
The speeding lorry first brushes against the divider before crossing over to the other side.
The container box of the lorry leans towards the right side and drags along the road.
The container box then rams into the right portion of the bus.
The seat numbers of those who died in the accident marked in red:
The flaw of one-driver policy
The Centre’s decision to let national permit cargo vehicles ply with just one driver has reportedly led to a spurt in the accident cases. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had amended the rules on November 10, 2018.
Earlier, the national permit vehicles had to mandatorily have two drivers and berth in the cabin. The berth was made mandatory to allow the drivers to rest after their duty hours. Some lorry owners reportedly pressurised the government to make changes in this. They had contended that their expenses increased with two drivers.
