The rare accident that occurred in Chennai on Monday night, in which an MTC bus climbed onto the railing near Gandhi Mandapam, was caused by overspeeding.
The MTC driver who has now been placed under suspension attempted to overtake a speeding car on the narrow stretch and realised at the last minute that he cannot go past the vehicle. He then decided to hit the median instead of the car.
A few onlookers reportedly said that the driver was found in an unconscious condition when the bus rammed the flyover, but MTC officials denied it and said the driver was very much awake when the incident took place.
The officials pointed to poor illumination on the stretch but accepted overspeeding as the real reason for the accident.
The bus was going towards Adyar and when it neared the flyover near Anna University the driver tried to overtake a car that was on the service lane nearby. However, as the bus was close to the flyover there was no space for the vehicle to go past the car. The bus driver then decided to hit the flyover to avoid hitting the car, Premkumar, general manager, MTC told DC.
The driver had stopped the vehicle at the Anna University stop, which is just a few metres behind, before the mishap happened. He should not have crossed the speed limit, especially within such a short distance, an official said. Traffic police has also barred buses from entering the service lane.
However, officials also pointed out that lack of proper illumination at the stretch and absence of reflectors at the flyover were also factors that could have contributed to the unusual mishap.