Thursday, 20 March 2025
Thursday, 20 March 2025
A 24-year-old man was killed on the spot, and two women were injured when a Porsche car rammed into two scooters near a petrol pump in Chandigarh’s Sector 4 on March 10. The victim, identified as Ankit from Punjab’s Nayagaon, succumbed to the brutal impact.
Chandigarh has recently witnessed a worrying surge in road accident fatalities, with a 21% increase in deaths in 2024, rising to 78 from 64 the previous year. Data from the Chandigarh police show that the highest number of fatalities occurred among young adults (18-35), accounting for 29 deaths, followed closely by middle-aged adults (36-55), with 25 fatalities.
Cars were identified as the leading cause of accidents, with 21 fatal crashes involving cars and 12 involving trucks.
A pattern of reckless driving
Fatal road accidents involving high-speed luxury cars are becoming alarmingly frequent in India, with many of these crashes linked to reckless or intoxicated driving. Luxury cars, often associated with speed and status, have been at the centre of multiple fatal accidents across the country.
On January 11, 2025, a 28-year-old man lost his life when a speeding Audi jumped the road divider and collided with a Maruti Ertiga on Ring Road near Bhikaji Cama Place in Delhi.
A month earlier, on December 10, 2024, a 20-year-old man was fatally struck by a high-speed vehicle while filming reels of a Land Rover Defender and a Mercedes-Benz on Beach Road. The victim, Alvin, was thrown several metres upon impact and succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital. Both luxury vehicles, brought from the showroom, were seized by the police.
One of the most controversial cases of reckless driving occurred in Pune on May 19, 2024, when Vedant Agarwal, a 17-year-old, rammed his unregistered Porsche Taycan into a motorbike, killing two IT professionals.
The case sparked public outrage after police were accused of delaying his blood alcohol test and granting him immediate bail. Investigations later revealed that his blood sample had been swapped with his mother’s, allegedly to hide evidence of intoxication. His father and grandfather were implicated in the conspiracy, along with hospital staff, in what became a high-profile legal battle.
Just days before this incident, on May 16, 2024, a speeding BMW crashed into an e-rickshaw in Noida, killing two people, including a nurse. The accident, which occurred at 6 am, also left three others injured.
Drunk-driving remains a major factor
Many of these fatal crashes share a common element — drunk driving. On November 25, 2024, a chaotic scene unfolded on Ambli-Bopal Road in Ahmedabad when a luxury Audi driver, reportedly intoxicated, rammed multiple vehicles during peak traffic hours.
Witnesses described how the driver, later identified as Ripal Panchal from Thaltej, appeared heavily inebriated and showed no remorse. After the series of crashes, he was seen casually smoking a cigarette inside his wrecked car before being handed over to the police.
In another case, a Mercedes-Benz driver was found to have 177 mg/100 ml of blood alcohol content — nearly six times the legal limit — after hitting and killing a 30-year-old woman.
In September 2024, a luxury BMW belonging to the Maharashtra BJP chief’s family was involved in a collision in Nagpur. The driver, Arjun Hawre, was arrested but later released on bail, even as two people suffered serious injuries.
Earlier in July 2024, a fisherwoman was killed in Mumbai when a BMW rammed into her scooter while she was on her way to sell fish. Her husband, who was riding with her, survived with injuries.
A long history of deadly crashes
Luxury car-related fatalities are not new. In 2021, a Jaguar SUV lost control and plowed into a crowd on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway in Ahmedabad, killing at least nine people who had gathered to assist victims of an earlier accident.
In 2022, four young men lost their lives on Purvanchal Expressway when their BMW, reportedly travelling at over 200 kmph, crashed.
In another incident, a man driving a Mercedes-Benz slammed into a Honda City in Kolkata, killing one of its occupants. Police confirmed that the accused had consumed alcohol thrice the permissible limit for driving.
Back in 2018, a high-speed collision on the Ajmer-Kishangarh highway involving a luxury car and multiple vehicles resulted in the death of a 28-year-old Jaipur man. The vehicle was allegedly involved in a street race with bikers before the crash.
Another fatal crash took place in Jaipur’s Sodala area in 2020, where a young man on his way to a constable recruitment exam was struck by a speeding luxury car while crossing a flyover. The impact threw him off the elevated road, leading to his death.
Despite repeated incidents, high-speed luxury vehicles, often driven under the influence, continue to pose a major threat on Indian roads. Critics argue that the combination of inadequate legal consequences, weak enforcement of traffic laws, and political interference has contributed to a culture where reckless driving goes unchecked.
While authorities continue to crack down on drink-driving and overspeeding, the rising number of fatalities suggests that stricter measures may be needed.
