A decrepit 17-year-old truck with severely worn-out tyres. A wave of raw anger and indignation swept through the massive crowd gathered at the Nileswaram accident spot as the grim reality of the crash set in.

According to Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) officials, the truck has a history of multiple traffic and safety violations. Both the police and the Regional Transport Office (RTO) authorities had previously flagged and penalised the vehicle on several occasions for offences, including operating without valid permits, speeding, and overloading. The MVD inspection also exposed critical safety failures, revealing that the truck’s tyres were completely worn out, drastically reducing its braking capacity. Furthermore, investigators discovered that the vehicle’s mandatory GPS tracking system had been deliberately turned off at the time of the crash, a tactic frequently used by operators to evade speed enforcement and route monitoring.

The fatal crash on Tuesday morning (June 23, 2026) has reignited a fierce public debate across Kerala regarding the recurring menace of heavy commercial vehicles and the systemic failure to enforce road safety regulations. “After killing three people on the spot the authorities have officially cancelled the fitness certificate of the vehicle. But how was a rickety, 17-year-old truck with tyres falling well below legal safety standards granted a fitness certificate in the first place? This glaring oversight points to a severe lapse in the inspection process, suggesting either gross negligence or corruption within the regulatory system that allowed an inherently hazardous vehicle to remain on public roads,” says Vijesh, a resident.

Lacked licence

The First Information Report (FIR) registered against the driver, Nizam, has invoked charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, citing reckless and negligent driving. Officials also confirmed that Nizam, who had returned from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) just a month ago, did not possess the required heavy-vehicle driving licence to operate the tipper truck. This disaster mirrors several recent heavy vehicle collisions in Kerala, where overloaded tipper trucks speeding through narrow pockets have repeatedly caused casualties, turning public waiting areas and school zones into high-risk areas.

“An important aspect here is the widespread violation of the strict running hours implemented to safeguard commuters. Under the directives of the MVD, heavy commercial vehicles, including tipper trucks, face a strict ban during peak morning and evening hours. But this specific time window has created an unintended, dangerous side-effect—a racing culture among truck drivers. To maximise profits and squeeze in full trips before the restrictive morning ban kicks in, many drivers engage in reckless speeding during the pre-ban window,” says an official.

GPS disabled

Enforcement officials also acknowledge that operators frequently disable the mandatory GPS tracking systems and operate under severe mechanical neglect to maintain these frantic schedules. “Without comprehensive, round-the-clock road enforcement and stringent punitive actions against truck owners who hire unlicensed operators, the current regulatory frameworks remain effective only on paper,” adds the official.