As many as 88 people have lost their lives in road accidents in the last six months on Samruddhi Expressway 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, the 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 specific 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 minor 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 crashes in 2022, he added.
In the early hours of Saturday, 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-kilometre Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg is now operational on a 601-km stretch from Vidarbha's largest city to Bharvir in Nashik. PTI DC NSK GK
Featured Video Of The Day
Drunk Driver Runs Over Several On Pune Footpath, 2 Toddlers Among 3 Dead
Video Viral Shows Crater On Samruddhi Expressway, Minister Says Repaired Car Enters Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway From Wrong Side, 6 Dead In Horrific Crash 12 Killed After Speeding Mini-Bus Rams Truck On Maharashtra Expressway "Congress Should Be Ready...": Mani Shankar Aiyar's Big INDIA Bloc Remark 3 Marriages, Rs 1.25 Crore: How 'Looting Bride' Targeted Rich Men Bashar Al-Assad's Wife Files For Divorce, Wants To Return To UK: Report Who Was Epigamia CEO Rohan Mirchandani, Who Died Of Cardiac Arrest At 41 140 Trillion Oceans Of Water Discovered In Deep Space Delta Airline Passenger Gets Frustrated After His First-Class Seat Was Given To Service Dog Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.