In a bid to reduce early morning accidents, the Sulur police have come up with plans to prevent sleep-deprived drivers from dozing off at the wheel.
Replicating an earlier practice, the police on Sunday stopped heavy vehicles and long-haul vehicles at select places on Salem-Kochi highway and offered the drivers hot beverage as refreshment. The police had also arranged water for the drivers to wash face.
Coimbatore Rural Superintendent of Police Sujit Kumar instructed officials to reintroduce the practice after five persons were killed in a collision involving a car and a mini-lorry at Vellalore Pirivu near Sulur on Salem-Kochi Highway around 5 a.m. on Saturday.
The police suspect that either the driver of the car or the mini-lorry could have dozed off and that resulted in the collision.
According to the police, places such as Vellalore Pirivu, Chinthamani Pudur, Sulur town, Pappampatti Pirivu, Sangothipalayam and Karanampettai were accident-prone. The police also found that majority of the accidents that took place on Tiruchi Road and Salem-Kochi Highway during the early hours were due to sleep-deprived drivers. The police team on night patrols on the highways will also advise the drivers to take breaks during long distance trips and refresh themselves.
