Law and order: Riding motorbikes on no-entry, one-way stretches put lives of road users in danger

Two construction workers killed in a hit-and-run on Madurai flyover, highlighting the dangers of lane violations in the city.

In a hit-and-run case, two motorists were killed on the flyover on the Inner Ring Road at Sivaganga junction in the wee hours of Monday.

The deceased were identified as K. Anil Kumar (25) and R. Ram Baran (32), construction workers from Chhattisgarh. 

Their attempt to cross the flyover from Thoothukudi side towards Tiruchi side on the wrong lane claimed their lives. Not just the vehicle that fatally knocked them down, but also the reason for them to take the opposite lane on the bridge is not known. 

“We are still clueless about why should the workers try to ride the bike on the wrong lane at odd hours when vehicles would be zooming past,” an Inspector in Madurai City Traffic police said. 

The officer reasoned that whichever lane they take would be of the same distance and there was absolutely no way that they could have taken a short-cut route to some by-lane from the top of the bridge.

Two more lives were lost few months ago when bike riders took the wrong lane from Mandela Nagar junction towards Sivaganaga Road junction, recalled Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), D. Kumar. 

Vehicle users, especially two-wheeler riders and often autorickshaw drivers, taking “no-entry” roads in the city is a common sight.