Speed limit violations by inter-district and inter-State contract carriages have again started challenging road safety measures in Kozhikode district despite the improved network of radar cameras and flash checking drives. Non-functional traffic signals in major junctions and fewer number of pedestrians are the major triggers for rash driving on the city roads in the late-night hours.

According to police sources, speed limit violation is suspected behind the latest accident at Mannur near Feroke in which a tourist bus turned turtle killing one of the 27 passengers. They say the timely intervention of local rescue operators had saved the lives of other passengers.

Apart from speed limit violations, late-night bus drivers frequently disregard one-way traffic regulations on certain city routes. Motorists, who follow the rules on Kannur and Wayanad roads, are experiencing unexpected disruptions due to the contract carriages violating one-way regulations. “Actually, no rules are seemingly applicable for the bus drivers in the absence of checking squads or fully functional cameras. The drivers rule the road using high beam headlights and violating lane traffic,” says Biju Orathel, an ambulance driver from Payyoli, who has happened to come across such violations during his emergency trips. The police are actually disinclined to check such vehicles afraid of passengers’ protest, he claims.

Meanwhile, Motor Vehicles department officials working with road enforcement squads argue that they have been very strict on inspecting speed governors considering the passengers’ safety. Permit is renewed every year after conducting a thorough checking. Bus owners rarely try to bypass the safety rules as the fine amount is heavy now, they add. The members of road safety clubs and organisations like the Road Accident Action Forum observe that only an effective night checking by special squads will expose the violators and improve the safety of passengers who travel in the late-night hours. There should be more reflective sign boards and scientifically designed speed breakers apart from installing high power night surveillance cameras for instant action, they add.