Another crash into parked lorry on NH 544 raises highway safety concerns in Keralam

The container truck that rammed a goods vehicle at Nandikkara on NH 544 on Tuesday Even as Keralam is still to recover from the Kaipamangalam tragedy, in which eight engineering students from Tamil Nadu were killed after their car rammed a parked lorry on NH 66, another accident involving a vehicle crashing into the rear of a stationary truck has renewed concerns over highway safety. The latest incident occurred at Nandikkara on NH 544 on Tuesday morning.A container lorry rammed the rear of a goods lorry parked along the side of the national highway near a bus waiting shed on the Thrissur-bound road around 9.30 am.The impact badly damaged the front portion of the container lorry and partially disrupted traffic towards Thrissur. However, none was injured.The Pudukkad police rushed to the spot and regulated traffic. The damaged vehicles were later removed using a crane, restoring the flow of traffic.Preliminary findings suggest that the container lorry driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, leading to the crash.However, local residents alleged that the illegal parking of lorries along this stretch of the national highway has become a regular occurrence.The accident comes close on the heels of the devastating Kaipamangalam crash on NH 66, where the eight students were killed after their car crashed into the rear of a goods lorry that had been parked along the roadside.The back-to-back accidents have once again brought the spotlight on the dangers posed by stationary and illegally parked heavy vehicles along Keralam’s busy national highway corridors. Published - September 08, 2026 02:54 pm IST