Yet another accident
In yet another accident on Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi expressway, twelve people, including a six-year-old girl, died on the spot near Jambargaon toll plaza in Vaijapur tehsil of Aurangabad district on Sunday.
23 injured in Sunday's crash
23 people were injured after the mini-bus they were travelling by, crashed into a stationary truck between 12.30am and 1am on Sunday.
Major accidents
However, this is not the first accident on one of India's longest highways. Earlier, several such major accidents have taken on the highway.
What is the Samruddhi?
Built at the cost of Rs 1.6 lakh crore, the 701-km Samruddhi ‘Mahamarg’ connects Mumbai and Nagpur. Currently, just over 600km of the route is open for motorists. Once fully operational, the Samruddhi is expected to bring down travel time between Mumbai and Nagpur to eight hours, from the earlier 17.
860 accidents since December 2022
The highway has seen 860 accidents between December 11 last year and August 31, 2023. Approximately 44% of deaths caused by drivers of vehicles who dozed off at the wheel.
What's causing these accidents?
Driver fatigue, burst tyres and mechanical breakdowns — every aspect of motoring has been blamed for the high number of accidents. For instance, in more than 400 accidents that occurred between December and March this year, officials believe the root cause was "mechanical breakdown due to speeding".
Retired transport official from Delhi says
RTOs could move vehicle inspection checkpoints away from highways. Set them up within cities and villages, to ensure only the fittest cars, trucks and buses enter highways. Also, monitor standards at all local service stations that carry out the job for less. You can get cheap brake pads, but they cost lives, said a retired transport official from Delhi.
Why are these accidents alarming?
The highway passes through rural districts where transporters operate vehicles that are seldom inspected. Experts said operators in cities maintain vehicles better.