MVD steps up highway patrols as aquaplaning accidents rise in Kerala
The Kerala Motor Vehicles Department has launched round-the-clock highway patrols to address a surge in aquaplaning accidents during the monsoon season. Officials are focusing on speeding and waterlogged road conditions, advising drivers to reduce speed and avoid cruise control in wet weather.
Why it matters
This initiative highlights critical infrastructure safety concerns on newly built highways and aims to reduce fatalities caused by hazardous driving conditions during heavy rains.
The Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has started round-the-clock patrols on the State’s newly built national highways and issued a warning on aquaplaning following a series of fatal accidents during monsoon.
The advisory includes surveillance camera videos showing vehicles, including a KSRTC bus, spinning and veering off the road after aquaplaning. Patrolling will continue until the monsoon ends. Officials said they would focus on speeding and waterlogged stretches.
Aquaplaning or hydroplaning occurs when a layer of water forms between a vehicle’s tyres and the road, causing the tyres to lose contact with the surface. Drivers can lose steering and braking control, especially when travelling at high speed through standing or flowing water.
The warning follows several accidents on national highways since the monsoon began. In Malappuram district alone, about a dozen people were killed in separate crashes and many others were injured.
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