Palakkad: Speeding by the driver of the tourist bus was the main reason for the accident involving a KSRTC bus at Vadakkencherry in which nine lives were lost. This is stated in the probe report of the Enforcement wing of the Motor Vehicles Department.
Right before the accident, the KSRTC bus had slowed down for a passenger to deboard, pointed out the report submitted to the Transport Commissioner by Regional Transport Officer (Enforcement) M K Jayesh Kumar.
The tourist bus driver drove recklessly. While crossing the toll plaza at Panniyankara, the KSRTC bus was ahead, followed by a car, pick-up van and then the tourist bus. But the speeding tourist bus overtook the pick-up van and car.
One passenger wanted to get down as the KSRTC bus reached near the post office after the Vadakkencherry flyover. So, prior to halt, the bus slowed down about 50 metre before the accident spot.
And as the KSRTC bus moved forward as soon the passenger alighted, the tourist bus rammed its right rear side. After the impact, the tourist bus swerved to the median, then turned left, and ran on to the garbage pile on the roadside and overturned.
The absence of markings on the left edge of the national highway, the lack of streetlights, and the pile of garbage on the wayside increased the impact of the accident.
At the time of the accident, the speed of the KSRTC bus was less than 10kmph and that of the tourist bus was 97.7kmph.
The report was prepared based on the study carried out over 22 days with the technical assistance of agencies including Keltron.
Five school students were among the nine people killed in the accident that happened along the national highway, near the Kolathara bus stop, at Anjumoorthy Mangalam in Vadakkencherry on October 5. The tourist bus was heading to Ooty on an excursion trip of the students from the Mar Baselios Vidyanikethan School at Mulanthuruthy in Ernakulam.
