The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Bus fatally hits 2 pedestrians at Tambaram Sanatorium

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Bus fatally hits 2 pedestrians at Tambaram Sanatorium

Special Correspondent

Car parked on carriageway blamed for accident

TAMBARAM: Two pedestrians were killed on the spot after they were hit by a bus on Grand Southern Trunk Road at Tambaram Sanatorium on Friday . Traffic police identified the victims as C. Panchavarnam (48) and V. Maarappan ( 47).

Traffic police said that at 9.45 a.m. a car bound for Tambaram, halted all of a sudden near a mechanic shed at Tambaram Sanatorium, opposite the National Institute of Siddha.

The driver opened the door when the two pedestrians walked past.

Taken by surprise, the pedestrians were pushed a few paces inside the carriageway, when a State Express Transport Corporation bus belonging to the Salem Division, knocked them down, killing them instantly. Velmurugan, the 32-year-old driver of the government bus, was arrested.

Kumar, the car driver, was also injured, but reported to be out of danger.

Marappan, a daily wage earner, was going to his house in Ambal Nagar, Chromepet.

Panchavarnam belonged to Gudiyatham in Vellore district and had brought her 14-year-old daughter for treatment to the Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram Sanatorium.

She had lost her purse and visited shops in the area seeking money to go home.

Though drivers have been prohibited from parking their vehicles on the carriageway all along GST Road, violations are not uncommon.

The problem is acute in Pallavaram, Chromepet, Tambaram Sanatorium and Kadaperi where parking of vehicles on the road sides forces pedestrians to spill on the carriageway.

Marked service lanes

In the absence of clearly marked service lanes, pavements for pedestrians and exclusive bays for government buses, a number of accidents take place, but many go unreported.

Another reason for Friday’s accident was that the bus travelled too close to the road margins, the traffic police said.

As only four passengers were seated in the Salem-bound bus, the driver drove the vehicle close to the road side expecting to pick up waiting passengers near the bus stops.

The traffic police said it was common to note long-distance government buses slowing down at their will to pick up waiting commuters, taking other road users by surprise.

Sources said creation of service lanes, preventing parking on the carriageway and halting of buses only at the designated spots could ensure safer riding conditions on GST Road.

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