Manaparai Accident: Users blame it on poorly planned roads

According to the ‘Road Accidents in India-2015’ report of the Union Ministry of Surface Transport, Tamil Nadu registered a total of 69,059 accidents, which is 14 per cent of the national number in India. D R Dharmaraj, Secretary of Tiruchy District Bus Owners Association, blamed the poorly-planned roads for rise in accident rate in the State. 

“There are many bottlenecks, especially at points where the NH crosses through the cities. Increasing vehicular density, two-wheelers and four-wheelers, is another serious issue. Another major problem is the drunk driving especially on highways. R Sugumar, president, Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners Federation, said that overloading of trucks is a major problem and has been continuing unchecked. 

“Currently, only 50 tonnes are allowed, but it has become a common sight trucks carrying around 140 tonnes. No action has been taken on cases of overloaded trucks. Moreover, the national highways are not properly maintained. We have been pleading with the government to set up a high level committee at the district level to ensure the highways maintained well,” he added. M Radhakrishnan, founder of Thozhan, NGO working on road safety, feels that most lorry drivers are overworked and this has been the reason behind many accidents. 

“Many of them drive for more than 15-18 hours at a stretch. Moreover, since it is a route they ply often, they tend to take it for granted. Though there are parking yards on the highways for the drivers to rest or to check their vehicles, their numbers were not enough in proportion to the increasing number of vehicles,” he said, adding that drivers were also not following road rules strictly. 

“There should also be improved infrastructure – installation of CCTV cameras in accident-prone zones and better road facilities,” he added. A senior official from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said that elevated roads are being planned at key intersections in Tamil Nadu.