The Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) is of the view that more stringent steps are needed from the police to check increasing number of road accidents and to bring to book the erring drivers involved in fatal accidents.
Although the negligence and rash driving of the driver of a private bus resulted in the death of five persons and injuries to another 65 in the accident near Chadayamanagalam on Monday, the police have booked the driver only under Section 279 (rash driving), 337 (endangering life personal safety), 338 (grievous hurt) and 304 (A) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC in the FIR registered at the Chadayamanagalam police station.
Registering cases under irrelevant sections result in the escape of the erring drivers most often and stringent steps were needed from the police in view of the increasing fatalities in road accidents, according State Transport Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh.
He said the private bus driver could have avoided the accident had he been more careful and cautious. The drivers of large vehicles like stage-carriers had greater responsibility, he said.
It had been found that the road on which the accident occurred had a carriageway of 9.50 m with central road markings and shoulder markings. The private bus overshot the central line and collided with the KSRTC bus. The portion of the KSRTC bus from near the driver seat to the wheel arch was destroyed under the impact of the collision.
All the persons killed were commuters of the KSRTC bus and there were no tyre marks at the accident site on the road that was developed under the Kerala State Transport Project.
This showed that rash driving and negligence of the private bus driver resulted in the accident.
