The police, highways and the Road Transport Authority will jointly assess factors that led to increasing number of accidents being reported on the stretch between Chinthamani Pudur and Karanampettai on Tiruchi Road. The seven km section witnessed 15 fatal accidents from January 1, police said. Senior officials from the three departments visited the stretch on Tuesday as part of the assessment.
A senior official with Coimbatore District (Rural) Police said that concerned over the spike in accidents on this stretch, Superintendent of police Pa. Moorthy initiated the joint inspection.
“A divisional engineer from the Highways and a motor vehicle inspector in charge of Sulur area joined for the inspection. Measures to reduce accidents, especially fatal ones, will be jointly taken by the three departments,” the official said.
On Monday, two persons were killed in an accident on the stretch. Residents, educational institutions and traders from the area have been complaining about rash driving by drivers of heavy vehicles on the stretch.
Mr. Moorthy The Hindu that the accident spots would be mapped. “I have planned to visit the stretch on Wednesday to see what all measures can be taken by the police to prevent accidents,” said Mr. Moorthy.
The narrow road between Chinthamani Pudur and Karanampettai on the highway is also blamed for the accidents on this section. A seven km stretch between the two places has only two lanes while the rest of the highway has four lanes. Lack of dividers, warning signage and unscientifically designed median openings are also stated to be reasons for the accidents.
