A day after a road accident in Kerala killed nine persons, including five students, enforcement agencies began cracking down on tourist buses in the state that flout road rules.
While the Kerala High Court picked the case suo moto and directed the state government to take stringent action against rampant violation of road rules, the motor vehicles department penalised tourist buses across the state for any violation—including use of flashlights, illegal horns and unapproved colours.
Meanwhile, the police decided to invoke stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code against the driver of the tourist bus involved in the Wednesday night accident.
The driver was subjected to an alcohol test, and once it came to light he was also involved in a previous rash driving case, a fresh investigation was launched into that as well.
Sources in the Kerala motor vehicles department said that lack of stringent law had become a problem leading to such accidents. According to them, even though tourist buses were often booked for violations—even blacklisted—they continued operating after paying the prescribed fines.
(Published 07 October 2022, 17:20 IST)
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