Madras High Court says driving at high speed on ring road is not negligence since...

The Madras High Court recently held that driving vehicles at high speeds on a road meant for fast travel cannot by itself be treated as negligence in a motor accident case [Tata AIG Vs P Ammu].

A Bench of Justices CV Karthikeyan and K Rajasekar made the observation while dismissing an appeal filed by Tata AIG General Insurance Company against an award of ₹2.92 crore compensation to the family of an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist who died in a road accident.

The case concerned the death of RSP Pugazhenthi who was working as a scientist at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. On December 31, 2019, he was riding a two-wheeler on the Minjur-Vandalur Bypass Outer Ring Road when he hit a Tata Ace goods vehicle from behind.

The goods vehicle had been parked on the left side of the road near the Morey overbridge without sufficient indication. Pugazhenthi suffered grievous head injuries and died on the spot.

His wife, minor son and mother moved the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) at Thiruvallur seeking compensation. The tribunal held that the accident occurred because the Tata Ace had been negligently parked on a road meant for fast travel. It awarded ₹2.92 crore as compensation.

The insurer challenged the award before the High Court and argued that the deceased was also responsible for the accident since he was driving the two-wheeler at high speed and dashed into the stationary vehicle. It sought a finding of contributory negligence against him.

The High Court rejected the argument.

The Court noted that the accident took place on the Outer Ring Road, where vehicles usually travel at high speed. It also found that the Tata Ace was parked on the track usually used by two-wheelers and at the entry point of an elevated road where visibility was poor.

“It is true that any vehicle coming with lesser speed can avoid accidents. However, the place, where the accident occurred, was meant for travel at high speed,” the Court said.

The Bench added that the deceased may have entered the elevated corridor at speed because that was expected on such a road.

“This could not be considered as a negligent act, because, all the vehicles entering into the Ring Road, travelled at high speed. If any vehicle moved slowly, it would disturb the regular traffic,” the Court observed.

The Court held that the parking of the Tata Ace vehicle was the root cause of the accident. It also noted that the police had filed a final report against the driver of the goods vehicle.

Therefore, the Bench refused to fix any contributory negligence on the deceased and confirmed the tribunal’s finding that the accident occurred solely due to the negligent parking of the Tata Ace on the two-wheeler track.

Since the quantum of compensation was not challenged, the Court confirmed the award and dismissed the appeal.

Advocate Vinod K appeared for the insurance company

Advocate CK Chandrasekkar appeared for the claimants.

[Read Judgment]