Police blame driver fatigue for Kurnool accident

Tirupati: Kurnool police, after a preliminary investigation into the gory road accident near Chilakaladona village in Mantralayam mandal of Kurnool district in the early hours of Thursday, have blamed driver fatigue as the main reason behind the tragedy, which resulted in the death of eight persons and injuries to 13 others.Kurnool SP Vikrant Patil said the driver of the mini pick-up truck appears to have dozed off at the wheel due to which the vehicle lost control, veered to the right side of the road, jumped over the road divider and rammed into the truck coming from the opposite direction. "It is unfortunate that despite continuous awareness campaigns such thing keep happening. We have been sensitising drivers travelling on long routes to alight from their vehicle, wash their faces, and resume their onward journeys after getting some rest, but they continue to be negligent," he said.Kurnool police also found that the ill-fated vehicle had no valid permit. The mini pick-up truck with 21 people on board started its journey from Tarikere in Chikkamagalur district at around 4.30 pm on Wednesday evening. During the overnight journey of 375 odd kilometres, the driver had very little sleep and reportedly dozed off when the vehicle was crossing Chilakaladona village in the early hours of Thursday. The accident has once again brought to light multiple transport regulation violations including no valid permit, overloading of passengers, and using a light commercial vehicle for long-distance travel.Locals and visiting devotees have expressed concerns over the frequent fatal road accidents on the Kotekal-Chilakaladona stretch. In a similar accident near Kotekal on Nov 29 last year, five devotees from Karnataka lost their lives. Sharp curves, lack of proper warning signs, poor night lighting, overspeeding, and driver fatigue are the major reasons behind the repeated accidents on this stretch. With Mantralayam being a major pilgrimage destination, people have urged the authorities to implement strict safety measures, including better road infrastructure, improved lighting, installation of warning boards, speed control and increased highway patrols to reduce accidents.