Two persons were killed after the bike they were travelling on got caught between two Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses at the accident-prone Chakkaraparambu Junction on the Palarivattom-Vyttila NH bypass in Kochi, Kerala, on May 10 morning.
According to the Palarivattom police, the deceased have been identified as Mohammed Sajad and Robin, both from Aluva.
The accident occurred soon after an ordinary bus of KSRTC halted at the junction, in front of the bike. A speeding Garuda bus of KSRTC rammed the two-wheeler from behind and then hit the rear end of the parked bus.
It has been learnt that the road was slippery following rains.
A resident of Chakkaraparambu, A.S. Boban, who is the working president of KSRTC Driver’s Society, was among the first to reach the scene of the accident. He said both fatal and non-fatal accidents were common at the busy junction mainly due to the absence of bus bays on either side.
This results in buses occupying the width of the slow track when they halt at stops, leaving a trail of vehicles behind. Accidents occur in the resultant chaos, especially when motorists turn impatient. The police can easily keep track of such issues and rule violations and take preventive measures, if they monitor the pair of CCTVs at the junction. The proximity of the bus stops to a pair of U-turns on the NH bypass and multiple turns that lead to/from service roads have added to the probability of accidents. The National Highways Authority of India must redesign these turns so that they are well away from the junction, he added.
