Bengaluru CEO’s death in Volvo crash sparks road safety debate online; netizens says ‘nothing in India can compensate…’

The tragic death of a Bengaluru-based company's CEO and five others in a Volvo SUV crash on Saturday has sparked a debate on how only having safe cars may not prevent accidents unless the roads are made safer.

A Volvo XC90, which is considered as one of the premium vehicles for car safety, was crushed by a container truck at the divider on the Nelmangala-Tumkuru highway.

The 48-year-old CEO of IAST Software Solutions, Chandram Yegapagol along with his wife Gourabai, son Gyan, daughter Deeksha, sister-in-law Vijayalakshmi, and Vijayalakshmi's daughter Arya were killed in the accident, according to a report by the Times of India (TOI). Reportedly, Yegapagol bought the SUV two months ago.

Yegagopal and his family were visiting their hometown, Sangli,  Maharashtra in their new vehicle. The accident happened around 11 am near Tippagondanahalli in Bengaluru.

"Chandram was driving responsibly and was not at fault," the report quoted police.

The driver of the container truck, Arif, suffered injuries. According to him, a car in front of him suddenly hit the brakes. When Arif hit the brake, the truck kept on going. In order to save the car, he moved towards the right, and the truck jumped the divider. Following this, the container truck hit a milk truck before hitting the Volvo.

Arif has been booked by the Nelamangala traffic police on charges of rash driving and negligence to endanger human life and death by negligence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, according to an Indian Express report.

The police have also obtained the CCTV footage of the accident.

“The driver of the blue car may have applied brakes suddenly, either to exit or head towards a restaurant. This led to the accident. We are working to identify the owner of the blue car. When the accident occurred, Chandram also applied his brakes, assuming the container truck was encroaching into his lane, but it fell onto his vehicle,” the report quoted police.

The police is still searching for the blue car.

An X handle named DriveSmart shared pictures from the accident site.

“This pic is a reminder that being safer on the road is not achieved by a safer car alone. Safe Roads + Safe Driver + Safe Car: All three are essential for safety. All the passengers in this Volvo lost lives in this car which supposedly went through all types of testing,” it wrote.

Several social media users claimed that Volvo makes safe vehicles, and it will not be possible for the car to handle the weight of the vehicle. Some users have asked the government to ensure road safety.

One of the users commented, “Bangalore road is one of worst roads sir, incomplete service roads ,issues r more.”

“You expect the car to be intact if a container truck rolls into it? Brilliant. No car, irrespective of its safety rating will survive that. A tank would,but we can't be driving around in a tank,” added another.

One of the user said, “Every manufacturer. Every car. Every situation and even luck has its own limitations. Nothing atleast in India can compensate for the utter disregard for traffic rules,poor civic sense and non existent infrastructure.”

“I am deeply disheartened by the news and public discourse surrounding accidents on our roads. It's appalling how the government has shifted the blame to individual citizens, fueling a culture of finger-pointing and division,” another user said.