Vadakkencherry accident: Alarm was sent to tourist bus owner twice: Transport commissioner

Transport Commissioner S Sreejith said the owner of the tourist bus that caused an accident killing nine at Vadakkencherry had been alerted about the speeding twice before it crashed into a KSRTC bus.

Speeding alarms rang on the RC owner's phone, first at 10.18 pm and then at 10.56 pm. However, it seems the warnings were ignored.

And just over half an hour after the second alarm, the bus rammed into the KSRTC near Ancumurthi Mangalam.

GPS data confirmed that the bus was travelling at 97.7 Km/hr at the time of the accident. Five students were also killed in the accident.

 

'More action needed'
Sreejith said there was a need to increase on-road enforcement to stop speeding. He added that school authorities must pass details of excursions to the transport department.

"We plan the vacation of students, their exams and even the syllabus. Why can't we plan their school trips?" Sreejith told mediapersons.

"If the schools inform us about their trips, we are ready to conduct fitness tests of the driver and the vehicle.

"We have done fitness tests on 22,000 school buses in the state. We are just waiting for the schools to inform us. What if the trip is a bit delayed, we can ensure safety," he said.