Mandya: Two days after a tragic accident on the Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway on Sept. 25 that claimed the lives of three persons, including two women, and left several others injured due to an SUV driver losing control near Lambani Tanda at Channapatna, four persons were killed in an accident on the Bengaluru-Mangaluru Highway near Bellur Cross in Mandya district’s Nagamangala taluk this morning.

Prima facie evidence suggests that both accidents were a result of reckless and negligent driving. This morning’s incident involved a high-speed car heading towards Hassan colliding with a KSRTC bus.

The accident occurred when the KSRTC bus, proceeding towards Bengaluru from Hassan, stopped near the Adichunchanagiri Medical Hospital for the passengers to alight. The overspeeding car driver lost control over the vehicle and rammed into the bus from behind.

The victims have been identified as Namitha, a resident of Bendiganahalli, Bengaluru; Pankaj Sharma, originally from Rajasthan and currently residing in Bengaluru; Raghunath Bhajantri from Dharwad and Vanshikrishna from Bengaluru.

Eyewitnesses and Police said that the car crashed to the KSRTC bus from behind. The collision was so severe that it left the car mangled and unrecognisable. Efforts are on to extricate  the bodies from the mangled remains of the car.

The primary cause of the accident has been attributed to very high speed and investigations into the incident are on. To facilitate the investigation, the Police cordoned off the Bellur Cross area, temporarily disrupting traffic flow.

Intelligent traffic system

In a related development, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for Traffic and Road Safety, Alok Kumar announced that the Karnataka Police are planning to implement an ‘intelligent traffic system’ along the Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway by the end of 2023. This move comes after repeated appeals to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to set up pedestrian-friendly traffic solutions and the subsequent delay on the part of the NHAI to act.

According to Alok Kumar, the State Police will soon release a tender on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal, inviting bids for the establishment of this intelligent traffic system, aimed at reducing road accidents. 

While the exact cost of this system remains undisclosed, Alok Kumar mentioned that it will encompass essential traffic management solutions, including the installation of an Automatic Number Plate Recognition System (ANPRS), Red Light Violation (RLV) cameras, real-time speed inspectors, among other features. Additionally, the system will incorporate a Sectional Overspeed Detection System and sensor-based solutions designed to deter speeding.

The Sectional Overspeed Detection System will monitor vehicle speed across various sections of the Expressway, with sensors strategically placed at 10-15 locations along the Expressway. Violators will receive e-challans and the sensor-based system will capture vehicle speed from a distance of 150 metres.

In the event of a violation, LED sign boards at different points along the Expressway will display the front image of the vehicle, along with its registration number and speed.