As many as 88 people have lost their lives in road accidents in the last six months on Samruddhi Expresswaᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚy in Maharashtra, including 25 on Saturday as a private bus caught fire after hitting a divider, an official said.
Road hypnosis is cited as one of the causes of the accidents on the six lane wide access-controlled expressway, the𒊎 state highway police official said. Highway hypnosis or driving hypnosis is a condition when a driver zones out while driving a vehicle without remembering what occurred in that specifi𝓰c period.
A total of 39 fatal accidents have taken place on the Nagpur-Mumbai expressway since December last year when it was partially thrown open, the official said citing data. Besides, 616 minor and major accidents have occurred on this expressway in which 656 people suffered from serious and min🐭or injuries, he said.
Most of the accidents were caused due to reasons like over-speeding, drivers dozing off at the wheel, and tyre bursts. The official said the highway police have been trying to tackle the issue of road hypnosis. Across Maharashtra, 15,224 people were killed in road crashesꦍ in 2022, he added.
In the early hours of Saturda♌y, 25 passengers were charred to death as the private bus they were travelling in caught fire after hitting a divider on the expressway in Buldhana district, police said. The 701-kilome𝔉tre Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg is now operational on a 601-km stretch from Vidarbha's largest city to Bharvir in Nashik.
