Two accidents on Chennai-Bengaluru Highway in Vellore hold up traffic for over two hours

The accidents, both involving two-wheelers, took place on the service lane; the victims have been hospitalised; motorists say rash driving on the service lanes is an issue, more vehicular subways are needed

Traffic was hit for more than two hours during rush hour on the Chennai - Bengaluru Highway (NH 48), which is maintained by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), in Vellore, after accidents involving two-wheelers occurred at two spots on the service lane of the highway on Friday morning.

Police said that two motorcyclists hit each other near a private hospital in Alamelumangapuram in the first accident, while the second, also involving two-wheelers, took place at Perumugai. The accidents affected traffic across a stretch of 3 km. Both took place on the service lane towards Chennai.

The victims sustained serious injuries and were shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Vellore. Cases have been filed by Sathuvachari police.

Based on an alert, the Sathuvachari police and patrolling team rushed to the spot and regulated the traffic. However, the narrow service lane does not have enough carriageway to accommodate big vehicles such as trailers and container lorries that ply on the main carriageway of the highway. As a result, traffic moved at a snail’s pace for over two hours.

Friday’s accident comes after work on the ₹18-crore subway was taken up at Perumugai, a border village on the highway connecting Vellore with Ranipet district, a few days ago. Perumugai village is one of the ‘black spots’ within Vellore limits on the highway. These black spots are accident prone areas, based on reports given by the police to the district administration.

“Rash driving on the narrow service lane, which is open for two-way traffic, is common. With the new subway work begun, the flow of vehicles on the lane has increased, causing risks to motorists and pedestrians,” said K. Sivakumar, a motorist.

NHAI officials said the new subway will accommodate two-wheelers, cars and buses. This arrangement will help reduce the total number of the existing ‘U’ turn spots on the stretch, to prevent accidents. The stretch has a few government schools, primary healthcare centres and car service centres. As per norms, there should be vehicular subways built at stretches of not less than 3 km to ensure free flow of traffic on the stretch.