[dust-n-bones]

25 People Killed After Bus Catches Fire On Maharashtra Expressway

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/25-p...ndtv_topscroll

Horrible way to go. RIP.

[MyLife_MyCar]

Buldhana SP Sunil Kadasne told PTI that as per preliminary information, a bus tyre burst and the vehicle hit a pole, collided with a divider and caught fire.

Unfortunately, just another statistics on this expressway, caused by yet another tyre burst!

[anjan_c2007]

A gory accident and amongst the worst so far on this expressway. Cannot attribute to any incongruencies on the super expressway at all. But the RTO and traffic police personnel had since more than a month back started checking tyres of all vehicles at major entry points. How did this bus' tyre escape notice of these law enforcers? Their mode of working needs to be investigated thoroughly. The errant ones cannot be absolved for their criminal act be it the bus owner or law enforcers and need to be punished under the law. Losing 25 lives in a burning bus is very gruesome. Its merely shoddy, slip shod, callous, criminal and condemnable approach by the concerned that has caused the loss of 25 innocent victims.

A video:-

https://twitter.com/KamitSolanki/sta...ailyhunt.in%2F

[fhdowntheline]

The other question is how did the bus catch fire? What engine was it running on? Diesel or CNG. What was the last maintenance done? Does RTO even require that transporters submit periodic maintenance records ? Who validates them ? If DGCA/ Railways/Shipping have proper procedures, does RTO have their equivalent?

[dust-n-bones]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

A gory accident and amongst the worst so far on this expressway. Cannot attribute to any incongruencies on the super expressway at all. But the RTO and traffic police personnel had since more than a month back started checking tyres of all vehicles at major entry points. How did this bus' tyre escape notice of these law enforcers? Their mode of working needs to be investigated thoroughly. The errant ones cannot be absolved for their criminal act be it the bus owner or law enforcers and need to be punished under the law. Losing 25 lives in a burning bus is very gruesome. Its merely shoddy, slip shod, callous, criminal and condemnable approach by the concerned that has caused the loss of 25 innocent victims.

I'm not sure if the police would verify this 'tyre burst leading to collision and fire' story. There should be some tell-tale roadmarks leading up to the accident site: tyre splinters, swerve marks, grooves made into the road due to emergency braking etc to corroborate.

Else it could be 'highway hypnosis' or sleep deprivation case as well.

I just hope there is a proper forensic investigation followed by preventive measures on this highway. Just hoping though, if some good can come out of this tragedy.

From the reporting it seems emergency exits were blocked by the bus landing sideways. As you say, RTOs should definitely address things like this. e.g., commercial vehicles to have speed governers set to max speed/safety certification.

[shancz]

Can only feel sad and enraged at the gruesome end to the passengers.

Some observations/queries:
- How come there were exits only on one side ? Emergency exits not available?
- Didn't the driver/crew think it was their responsibility to open the emergency exits, if available? Also no fire extinguishers on board or if so not used by the crew ?
- The reason for tyre burst has to be found out and suitable actions enforced. Since this is a controlled and tolled stretch of the expressway it should be easily doable.

Hope MoRTH comes up with regulations that prevents accidents like these and if they do then make them survivable at the very least by :
- fixing clear responsibility of the crew on driving and post crash actions
- mandating and enforcing emergency exit locations
- mandating and enforcing highlighted escape equipment like window hammers and fire extinguishers.
- tyre checks at the toll gate with even stringent checks for heavy vehicles

We have to stop treating preventable failures like tyre-burst, brakes etc. as an act of god.

[dust-n-bones]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Cannot attribute to any incongruencies on the super expressway at all.

Have not been on this expressway, but I think there are no steel crash barriers installed on the stretch where this happened. Is that not criminal negligence when you rate this for 100 kmph?

I suppose such a barrier would have nudged the out-of-control bus back on to the paved road, and away from concrete and poles which are cited as the reasons for the fire.

[rishi.roger]

All Buses should be fitted with TPMS Sensors. More than cars these vehicles ply on roads all the time, and they could definitely make use of such tech.

[tp_dominator]

I used this expressway a total of 8 times (counting to and fro) since the last week of May with varied entry and exit times and I found nobody checking any tyres at any tolls. Only while nearing the Aurangabad exit coming from the Nagpur side, I was able to spot traffic cops with speed guns. Also, they were doing just that, only issuing challans using the guns and not stopping anybody anywhere for speeding.

I saw a total of 9 accidents during these journeys. These ranged from cars to trucks. One Maruti Celerio with UP passing was there on the median for all the 8 trips I took. This highway I feel is very unregulated with people overtaking me in varied ranges of cars when my CC is set at 118 km/h. This is such an unfortunate and avoidable accident only if vehicle fitness is given priority. People should understand the limit of their vehicles rather than testing the capabilities of the road.

Median barriers were being installed at all the places and I guess this will be completed by this month or the next for the entire stretch. I just hope the expressway is regulated better with proper monitoring and steep fines for violators. If we have got a world class highway now, we need to follow world's best practices towards safer driving including following all traffic laws and spending some more time towards vehicle fitness and proper maintenance.

[jayeshdamle]

https://www.rediff.com/news/report/h...e/20230701.htm

The authorities say no rubber debris or any tyre markings at the scene apparently. They are claiming it is a case of driver dozing off. It could be a possibility given the accident after travelling around 150 kms post their dinner break.

Even thought the report says that the bus was just 4 years old, travelling regularly to Konkan (by my own vehicle), I have seen the state of some the buses that ply on the Mumbai Goa highway. No way some of them are road worthy, let alone be passenger worthy

[fhdowntheline]

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../101425927.cms

This is another crucial aspect that has never probably been looked into. I am always wary of traveling in a narrow sleeper berth like that on a bus. I'd rather be awake and aching in the body than sleep and leave the rest to fate. Btw, I feel the same about the new "First Class suites" on the airlines. That disconnect from the rest of the airplane is a bit unnerving to me.

[anjan_c2007]

It is now amply clear the accident was not due to a tyre burst as mentioned in my trailing post. That was going by newsreports yesterday. The accident happened at 1.32 am when passengers were fast asleep.

The RTO Amravati (Mah) has found the following sequence of events post inquiry as reported by The Times of India.

- Bus collides with pole to its right (driver's side), hits median.
- Driver loses control as the front axle gets dislodged and the right side of the bus hits the road divider a second time now.
-The diesel tank is hit due to the impact. The bus topples resting to a halt with its left side on the ground.
- The bus gets engulfed in a fire that is instantly triggered.
- The bus gets misaligned and the rear emergency exit becomes inoperative.
-Passengers are trapped inside though just a few break the glass and exit safely.

These are the official RTO findings and we can't comment how much of it is true or not true.

The newsreports say the passengers who exited also shouted for help from passing vehicles but no one stopped. The flames prevented many trapped passengers from reaching the front driver's side door too. It was all over in about 10 minutes.

The driver and cleaner however escaped most likely through thd driver's side door. This is condemnable as one driver (there were two) and cleaner are supposed to be captains who needed to have saved many passengers. I will also write in the newspapers suggesting that offences be booked against them. Plus it looks like the driver was dozing off. When a vehicle's driver's side is hit, it usually indicates that some unfit and/or incapable person is behind the wheels. The firemen too reached but as all was over in 10 minutes they could hardly do any worthwhile rescue jobs.

Some details about the ill fated bus:-

- owned by Vidarbha Travels
- registration number MH 29 BE 1819
- registration date 24.01.2020
- fitness valid upto 10/3/2024
- speed governor fitted
- no tyre burst markings or rubber peices found on the road
- the bus was travelling at 70 kmph
- departs Nagpur at 5 00 pm for Pune via Wardha and Yavatmal
- enters Samruddhi E way at 11.08 from Karanja Lad
- accident happens at 1.32 am
- Carried 27 passengers and six crew including two drivers

The state government is appointing a committee of experts to look into safety issues, while experts have recommended sleep screening for such commercial as well as private vehicle drivers.

But the point is that even after so many recommendations, committee reports, manual checks and other measures, we are losing precious and innocent lives. Perhaps if inquired into in details one out of every few accidents will reveal some surprises that had been ignored. Not only on this E-way but in others too !

[shancz]

Agree with the RTO report, makes sense. Hope strict action is taken in this case and responsibilities fixed for the owners and crew going forward.

Incidentally my first and last experience with a sleeper bus was from Nagpur to Pune back in 2008. Couldn't identify the make but the body looked too tall for the track width it had. The worst part was waking up mid air because the driver didn't slow down for rumble strips and that literally tossed me up, all limbs in air, every time.
That experience was enough to have me stick to seating only and Volvos(if available) henceforth.

Roads and sleep should never occur in the same sentence, IMHO.

[Hayek]

A number of issues here and I am glad none of our Team BHPians has gotten into so called speeding on the expressway.

1) Should bus operators be allowed to operate overnight routes with drowsy drivers? What was the cleaner doing - was he also asleep?
2) Why don’t our buses have emergency exits that can open easily and let people escape?
3) Has anyone tested these sleeper buses to examine the impact of weight distribution on centre of gravity and ability to control the vehicle?

I suspect the answers to these question will give us the cause of this accident.

It is clearly not due to bad expressway design, or excess speed if the accident happened at 70 kmph.

[winterfell]

Tragic accident on Samruddhi mahamarg. I have driven twice from Nagpur to Shirdi and can see lots of tyre marks (tyre burst) and small parts of it on the expressway.