Stranded by empty FASTag, KSRTC bus drives 3km down wrong way on NH 66 | WATCH
Kozhikode (Kerala): In a bizarre and highly hazardous traffic violation, a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Superfast bus drove backwards down the wrong side of National Highway 66 for nearly three kilometres after discovering its FASTag account had run out of funds. The incident occurred on June 4 at approximately 3 pm.
The bus was en route from Kozhikode towards Ramanattukara when it merged onto the National Highway bypass from Thondayad. However, upon pulling up to the toll plaza, the automated barrier failed to lift as the vehicle's corporate FASTag wallet lacked a sufficient cash balance. Rather than settling the fee manually, the driver decided to execute a U-turn directly at the toll gate and head back into oncoming highway traffic.
Terrified motorists force bus off speed lane
For nearly three kilometres, the heavy passenger bus barrelled against traffic down the central speed lane of the active highway. Shocked and angry motorists traveling in the correct direction repeatedly blasted their horns and confronted the driver, eventually forcing him to steer the bus over into the slower lane.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage has since emerged showing the state transport bus driving the wrong way, causing severe traffic gridlock, before finally exiting the main highway lane onto a service road near the 'Kozhikodan Kitchens' eatery to resume its journey.
Corporate red tape triggered hazardous maneuver
The dangerous driving stunt was apparently triggered by KSRTC’s internal financial policies. Under the current public transport corporation rules, if a vehicle's institutional FASTag has zero balance and a driver pays the toll out of their own pocket via a personal UPI app, there is no administrative mechanism in place for the corporation to reimburse the employee.
While the standard automated corporate FASTag deduction for a one-way bus crossing at this plaza stands at ₹445, paying manually via cash or UPI triggers a penalty rate, forcing the driver to shell out ₹556.25. Unwilling to lose personal funds to bureaucratic red tape, the driver chose to risk a catastrophic head-on collision on the national highway instead.