[Murugan]

Such a horrendous fatal accident due to possible negligence by whoever was constructing the flyover, or is it possible that some irresponsible miscreant, someone with a sick mind, or some ignorant person removed some barricades?



Does anyone recall a similar fatal accident alleged to have happened on the Chennai Bengaluru National Highway 48 as it crosses State Highway 58 and a railway track on an incomplete flyover on the Kanchipuram bypass road a few years ago?





How can such tragedies be averted?

Should non-removable barricades be placed or built at such spots?

Is anyone held responsible for such terrible accidents that are caused due to negligence etc?

Three killed after car falls from incomplete flyover near Chennai

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI, NOVEMBER 24, 2017 13:08 IST
UPDATED: NOVEMBER 24, 2017 13:31 IST

Three persons of the same family died and two others, including the driver, were injured after an Innova car they were travelling in fell from an incomplete flyover in Red Hills on Thursday night. The vehicle fell from a height of over 30 feet into a pit full of rainwater.

According to police, Palani (65), his wife Navaneetham (55), and their daughter Pavithra (26) were killed. While Ayyapan, their son-in-law and Kandavel the driver sustained injuries and have been admitted to a hospital.

All residents of Kolathur in Sriperumbudur. They had gone to attend engagement of their relative in Minjur.

Around 9.30 p.m. the vehicle was speeding on the incomplete flyover. "The driver did not know it was incomplete and local residents claim there were no barricades," said a police source.

The car fell from the edge and landed in a pit beneath the flyover. Ayyappan and Kandavel managed to escape. A few of their relatives were behind their car, but stopped after seeing the accident. The Cholavaram police are investigating.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...le20757222.ece

[mudhasir]

This is tragic and immensely disturbing to say the least. How can there be not any signs or barricades to prevent movement of vehicles in under construction roads? This callous attitude has caused 3 lives. Loss of lives for such reasons are unacceptable and scary to say the least. I sincerely hope there were necessary signboards/alerts present as not having signboard is more worrisome than careless drivers

[Ithaca]

This is a gruesome accident however you look at it. Any driver will hope that the road ahead is clear and usable. The driver would assume that there are no obstacles or impediments on the route ahead and incase of any such impediments, he would expect the authorities to put in place some markers or obstructions which are suitably illuminated.

Roads are meant for every citizen and not just the local citizen who may be aware of some work being done on the local roads. Vehicles of all types - local and out of state - use roads with the knowledge that the roads are pliable, that the authorities are competent enough to inform them in case of any deviations and will blindly put their faith in the local authorities for their well being while using those roads.

This incident is a clear case of general apathy, negligence and incompetence of the local authorities who did not care to properly mark or label that section to inform the users about the flyover being incomplete.
Once this news gets flashed on local, state and national media, we can be assured that the usual circus of blame game and fault finding will begin and the lowest ranked member in the set up will be the fall guy.

My deepest sympathies for the departed and condolences to family they have left behind. May their souls rest in peace and I hope their untimely deaths triggers in the authorities in our country a basic decency to ensure that this is not repeated elsewhere.

[Ambi]

The company who got the construction contract for this flyover should be held responsible for this.

Question comes who in company? In my opinion, it is upto the senior leadership teams to enforce processes that ensure safely disciplines percolate down to the on field teams. Unfortunately this was not the case here. Very sad state of affairs.

[skchettry]

A very sad incident indeed. How can the authorities and construction companies be so callous about safety of road users? When shall we understand the value of life? Citizens must demand accountability and courts should intervene and charge the concerned officials for murder, to say the least.

[wantarangerover]

Had such an incident in Vadodara years ago. Tragic, and the worst part is that the construction company will probably go scot free. But we are used to these things in India, human lives are cheap here.

[H_Dogg72]

Disgusting. Government collects taxes of all sorts and doesn't have the common sense to block an incomplete flyover. This could happen to any of us.

[Jr Godzilla]

I agree, that it is a road works / construction works error here, with NO signage.
However as a driver, he or she should be able to see enough road ahead to avoid the unexpected.
Sadly most drivers oversee the "observing" part of driving and are caught unexpectedly due to high speed, poor reaction and panic.

I still follow my hayabusa forum lesson of SEE - Scan, Evaluate & Escape. Helps alot.

RIP to the unfortunate victims.

[avira_tk]

My friend had a near miss on a flyover, no signs or barricades anywhere, he's a good driver, judged something was wrong based on the missing side walls and was able to stop and turn around. Barricades have been become "safety" fixtures on normal highways increasing the risks. Apparently they are nowhere to be found in a construction site.

What is irritating is that the local police on towns along the Bangalore Kanyakumari highway have kept barricades on highway, mostly on blind turns and without reflectors, compete disregard for the safety of those using the highway. The is a high court order against such idiocy after an accident caused by barricades without reflectors, hope we were as good with implementing as we are with legislating.

[esoticoreventon]

I've seen some young boys once removing barricades on an incomplete road like this just so that they could pose for pictures on their bikes without the traffic disrupting them. Could this case be similar to that? I doubt that as, from what I can tell, there were no barricades in the vicinity. Also can these plastic barricades be sold for money?

One way to avoid this could be painting some sort of sign on the road itself warning of incomplete roads ahead, giving enough space for the driver to stop and turn around. It's not fool-proof, but atleast it cannot be taken away like a barricade.

Apologies for the back to back posts, but the time to edit my post has elapsed. I just came across this in the newspaper. Apparently the barricades were removed for a film shoot and wasn't placed back on the road.

[dhanushs]

Damn.. how irresponsible can the authorities get?! When all the drivers find easy ways to drive, an incomplete flyover without a barricade is super dangerous. How is the driver supposed to figure it out at night?

I think this matter should definitely be escalated, and legal action taken on whoever is responsible.

[Chillout]

Apparently there were some barricades, apparently a few days back for a film shooting they removed those barriers.

Now who do we blame, the film crew for clearing the barricades, the administrators for allowing the shooting, driver for not slowing down even though the complete road wasn't barrier free, or general apathy of the public towards life.

It's a sad state that we are in and because of the excess population, there isn't no value for life.

No one can save us, unless we decide to change.

[Murugan]

From today's "The Hindu" newspaper.



"Two other family members injured; locals say barricades were removed for film shooting on the bridge near Red Hills"

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...le20810740.ece

[ashutoshb]

With so many parties involved, it will be difficult to fix blame here. But, someone is responsible for their death, for sure. And it's not the driver.

The charges are most likely to be for Causing Death by Negligence not amounting to culpable homicide (Section 304A of IPC).

Imprisonment can be up to two years, or with fine, or with both.

In my opinion, an entire family was wiped out , due to someone's callousness. The punishment should be much harsher.

[bhavik.1991]

I have see many flyovers where the center section of the flyover is a few centimeter lower than both the side. There is no way that a driver can figure out whether it 'exists' or not until he /she reaches too close to it.