Two youngsters died late on Monday after they were injured while racing their bike on the Outer Ring Road, connecting Vandalur and Minjur, near Poonamallee, on Sunday.
The accident took place when the driver of the motorbike lost control and hit the median.
A. Hariharan (17), a Class XII student and his friend Balakrishnan (18), a student of ITI, were residents of Tiruverkadu.
On Sunday afternoon, they told their parents that they were off to take a dip in the Chembarambakkam lake and left on their motorbike. They were soon joined by their friends. Hariharan was driving, while Balakrishnan rode pillion.
When they neared Vadakku Malayampakkam, at 2.30 p.m., Hariharan, who was driving at 120 kmph, lost control and hit the median near a bus bay on the Outer Ring Road. On impact, the duo were thrown off the bike. They were rushed to a private hospital for treatment, but died late on Monday.
The traffic police registered a case.
Following the accident, several road users demanded that the police crack down on illegal bike racing.
A police officer said, “Such races often take place on weekends. Youngsters place bets on the races and some even post pictures and videos on Facebook and other social networking sites”.
Pattabiram resident T. Sadagopan said that there was hardly any patrolling by the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company, the contractor who built it or by traffic police in the area.
“They have a responsibility to ensure that such illegal activities do not happen on roads,” he said.
He added that in the early hours of the day, amid heavy mist and poor visibility, many youth were seen racing on the road at breakneck speeds.
“This is especially common on the stretch between Nemilichery and Poonamallee. Even without that, many accidents were reported on this stretch, and racing has added to the risk,” he said.
CCTV cameras
The concessionaire managing the 30-km-long Phase I of the Chennai Outer Ring road from Vandalur to Nemilichery is in the process of installing CCTV cameras on the entire stretch.
Sources in the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company said the work was in progress.
Following the accident, residents demanded that the police crack down on illegal bike racing
