Three killed, two injured after cars collide on Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway

Three people died, two were injured in a collision between two cars on the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway on Tuesday, the police said

Three people died on the spot and two others sustained severe injuries after two cars rammed into each other on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway near Maddur in Mandya district on Tuesday, the police said.

Three people died, two were injured in a collision between two cars on the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway. (Representational image)

According to the police officials the deceased have been identified as Niraj Kumar (50), his wife Selvi (47) from Uttar Pradesh and car driver Niranjan (35) from Mandya.

As per the investigation, a Tata Hexa, struggling to navigate in the incessant rain, skid and hit a divider, and later rammed into Niraj Kumar’s Marui Swift Dzire. The collision resulted in on spot death of the three in the swift car. Niraj was travelling from Bengaluru to Mysuru with his wife.

Meanwhile, occupants in Tata Hexa, a couple from Mysuru were rushed to Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital and are said to be out of danger. A complaint has been lodged at Maddur Traffic station.

Concerns have been raised about the increasing number of accidents on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, particularly related to overspeeding. Since the expressway provides a free right of way, unlike the old highway, many drivers have met with accidents due to overspeeding.

‘’A case has been registered at Maddur traffic police station under section 279 (rash driving), 338 (causing grevious hurt by negligent driving), 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and investigation is on,’’ Mandya SP Yetish Kumar told HT. He said 99% of accidents on the expressway occur due to overspeeding. The increased number of accidents has reignited the debate on banning two-wheelers and slow-moving vehicles from the main carriageway of the expressway that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated on March 12.

‘’The menace of overspeeding is increasing on the expressway designed to cut travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru to just 75 minutes. While the speed limit for vehicles on the expressway ranges from 80 to 100 kmph, vehicle users routinely drive at 100 -120 km and higher,’’ Traffic expert M N Sreehari told HT. He said that the main reason behind the accidents is that the motorists tend to speed on the highway. Unfortunately, some stretches of the Expressway suffer from unscientific construction and incorrect alignment, which have contributed to fatal accidents. He said the highway does not have adequate sign boards too. “Other than inadequate signboards, the other bigger problem is that there is no one to check on people who overspeed. The police should restrict the speed limit to 80km per hour like Hyderabad expressway,” Sreehari said.