THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rash driving has snuffed out yet another young life. The accident which took place in front of Manmohan Bungalow at Kowdiar on Thursday night has brought to fore the unofficial street races that take place in the city once the sun sets. Though the locals allege the accident took place during a race between two cars, the cops said the incident happened due to speeding.
It is yet to be confirmed whether the accident happened due to street racing. However, the incident has placed the police in a tight spot. The incident has brought to focus the department’s failure to curb speeding of vehicles, especially along the Kowdiar-Vellayamabalam stretch.
The stretch which is becoming notorious for street racing has no CCTV coverage. The police admitted no cameras have been installed in the stretch which is a high security zone and has buildings like the Raj Bhavan. “There are cameras only at Vellayambalam and Kowdiar junction. So it is difficult to get the visuals of the accident. But, we are trying our best to source footages from the CCTVs installed at the restaurants and the coffee shops,” a senior traffic police officer said.
Racing had been going on for quite some time but the frequency waned after the police stepped up surveillance. The youngsters who hung out at a branded coffee chain restaurant use to engage in racing after placing bets. But the recent incident has shown that the racers are back wreaking havoc on the roads. Though these racers earlier preferred Kowdiar, they have shifted base to the newly developed NH 66 bypass from Kazhakoottam to Akkulam.
Lift-Off understeer
According to Joseph Thomas Pottamkulam, a motor race expert, the accident on Thursday was a clear case of ‘Lift-Off understeer’. “I think the driver lost the control over the vehicle when he negotiated a curve. The speed of the car could have been above 120 km/hr. So even though he tried to turn the steering right, the vehicle skidded towards the curve side. I was at the spot and I had witnessed several such accidents at this stretch. Nearly all such accidents happened as a result of racing. I had even conducted awareness sessions at colleges in order to make youngsters aware of the need to drive responsibly. However, such incidents are becoming very frequent,” Joseph said.
He said normal cars are not built for racing. Racing cars have a different design and specifications. “Hence, youngsters should refrain from engaging in races using ordinary cars and bikes,” Joseph added.
“It has become very risky to drive along the Vellayambalam-Kowdiar route especially after 8 pm because some people have a penchant to break the speed barrier. Earlier, youngsters on bikes used to weave in an out of the traffic on bikes at great speeds. Now many of them have turned to cars,” said Venugopal, a resident of Jawahar Nagar. According to him, he had witnessed many instances where many had brushed past death by a whisker.
Highlighting the threat these racers pose to the pedestrains Rachel Thomas, a resident of Golf Link road, said, speed thrills but it kills. A lot of people do it just to get high on the adrenaline rush. “Also, movies like Fast and the Furious series have put the wrong ideas in the minds of these hot-blooded youngsters. They think its macho to do stunt-driving at insane speeds,” she added.
A dangerous trend
According to road safety experts, racing vehicles on busy roads is a dangerous trend and results in fatalities. Many youngsters can be seen driving luxury cars at a very young age. Also these youngsters try out their driving skills during night time since the police keep the interceptors in the streets only at daytime.
The steps taken by the traffic police are also not enough. The statement made by some of these youths hell-bent on getting adrenaline rush doesn’t help improve matters. “Some youngsters have said even if strict rules are implemented, they will continue to race on the streets,” a NATPAC official said.
Moreover, the Road Safety Authority’s move to install automated cameras linked to speed sensors to take snapshots of the speeding motorcycles remains on paper. Meanwhile, City Police commissioner P Prakash said the city police will implement strong measures to curb the menace. He said the accident that took place at Kowdiar on Thursday was not the fall-out of a race.
“We will enforce traffic laws striclty to avoid such accidents in the future. If anyone is found racing in the stretch, strict action will be taken against them,” Prakash said. DYFI district committee conducted an awareness campaign on dangers of speeding at Vellayamabalam junction on Friday.
‘Accident due to speeding’
The condition of the three who were injured in the accident is said to be stable. Adarsh’s body has been handed over to the relatives after a post-mortem examination. According to Museum police SI, G Sunil, the accident happened due to speeding and not due to racing. “Preliminary reports say the accident happened due to speeding. Though locals say the driver raced with another vehicle, I beg to differ. The CCTV footage shows no other vehicles on the spot at the time of the accident,” Sunil said.