A devastating multi-vehicle collision on the treacherous Thoppur ghat section of the Salem-Bengaluru National Highway claimed four lives on Tuesday. The accident involved a Taurus truck, a parcel truck, a car, a minivan, and a two-wheeler, leading to severe traffic disruptions and highlighting the persistent dangers of this stretch.
Sequence of a Tragedy: How the Accident Unfolded
The chain of events began when the driver of a Taurus truck, N Munusamy (43) from Namakkal district, lost control of his vehicle. Munusamy was transporting chicken feed from Maharashtra to Namakkal. Traffic was reportedly disrupted near the double bridge area due to ongoing high-level flyover construction work. This disruption likely contributed to the driver losing control.
Munusamy's truck first collided with a parcel truck that was moving ahead of it. This parcel truck was on its way from Vellore to Trichy. The impact of the collision sent the parcel truck careening into the opposite lane, where it rammed into a car, a minivan, and a two-wheeler that were coming from the other direction.
Victims and Immediate Aftermath
Tragically, three individuals died on the spot. They were Taurus truck driver N Munusamy, and the two-wheeler riders S Arunagiri (47) and his sister Kalaiarasi (42), both from Mathemangalam in Dharmapuri district. The fourth victim, V Dinesh (30) from Salem district, was seriously injured when the parcel truck smashed into his car. He succumbed to his injuries while being rushed to the Dharmapuri Government Medical College and Hospital.
Three other people sustained injuries in the crash, but their condition was reported as stable. The accident caused massive traffic congestion on the crucial national highway. The Thoppur police have registered a case and launched a detailed investigation into the causes of the collision.
A Notoriously Dangerous Stretch: Alarming Historical Data
This tragic incident is not an isolated one on the Thoppur ghat road. Data from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) paints a grim picture of this section's safety record.
In 2018 alone, 92 collisions occurred on this road, resulting in 32 deaths. The following years were equally deadly, with 108 accidents in 2019 claiming 46 lives, and 99 accidents in 2020 leading to 38 fatalities. An NHAI official revealed that over the past 11 years, official records show 961 accidents on this stretch, with many minor incidents going uncounted.
"In the past 12 years, 255 people have died on the Thoppur ghat road," the official stated. The primary reasons cited for the high accident rate include steep gradients, tight turns, and vehicle queues at the toll booth that often lead to tail-end collisions. Furthermore, truck drivers on the route attribute roughly 90% of crashes to air brake failures while descending the ghats, a claim supported by driver testimonies about pressure loss in brakes.
Ongoing Safety Measures and Infrastructure Projects
In response to the perennial danger, authorities are undertaking significant infrastructure projects. The construction of a new three-lane elevated flyover in Thoppur is currently underway. The bridge piers have already reached a height of 35 metres, and work on the 6.6 km elevated road, designed specifically to prevent such accidents, is 50% complete. The government has allocated a substantial Rs 905 crore for this project.
As an interim safety measure, the NHAI has installed numerous speed breakers at the Thoppur crossing. Continuous announcements are also being made, advising drivers to not exceed speeds of 30 km per hour while navigating this hazardous section.
