Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Dec 25: As the year draws to a close, Karnataka and other parts of India witness a surge in fatal road accidents, particularly on national highways, with biting cold, dense fog and early-morning drowsiness creating deadly conditions for motorists. December and January consistently see a spike in crashes, highlighting the dangers of winter driving.
According to officials, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi report high numbers of highway accidents, and Karnataka is no exception. Police statistics show that the winter months see a marked increase in collisions, particularly on high-speed corridors, due to low visibility and driver fatigue.
Representational image
A recent tragedy occurred near Javangondanahalli, close to Hiriyur in Chitradurga district, where a Seabird bus travelling on a national highway was hit head-on by a truck that crossed the divider in the early hours of Thursday. The bus caught fire, leaving several passengers burnt beyond recognition, authorities said.
Winter has historically been unforgiving on Karnataka’s highways. On January 15, 2021, a minibus carrying women tourists from Davangere to Goa collided with a tipper on NH-48 (then NH-4), killing 12 people.
On January 29, 2024, a tractor collided with a school vehicle in Alagur village, Jamkhandi taluk. On December 15, 2022, a school vehicle accident in Shivamogga district claimed multiple lives. On December 2, 2024, a road mishap in Hassan killed an IPS officer. In 2019, four members of a business family died when a truck overturned on the Tumakuru–Doddaballapur road.
Excluding the Covid-19 period, Karnataka has recorded alarming numbers of road accidents in recent years. Police records show 43,440 accidents in 2023, followed by 39,000 in 2024, underscoring the recurring risk during winter months.
Other recent fatalities include nine killed in a collision between a sleeper bus and a truck near Chitradurga on NH-48 on December 25, 2023, ten killed after a truck fell into a gorge in Karwar on January 22, 2025, seven members of a single family perished in a car–lorry collision in Kolar district in January 2020, and ten people died in a bus–container truck crash in Tumakuru district in December 2016.
Authorities say that NH-48 and NH-75 account for the majority of serious accidents. Night-time driving, excessive speed, and head-on collisions are major factors, they note.
Police stress that the combination of dense winter fog and early-morning drowsiness makes December and January particularly hazardous. “With more people travelling for year-end holidays, drivers must exercise extreme caution, avoid speeding, and if possible, avoid travelling in the early hours,” said a senior traffic official. The advice comes as a warning to minimise fatalities on the state’s busy highways during the winter season.