Kasaragod: Questions are being raised over how motorists should use the service road along National Highway 66. Although traffic is intended to flow in both directions, many drivers continue to move as if the road is fully open, leading to frequent accidents and congestion. In response, authorities have begun marking the road, instructing vehicles travelling in either direction to keep left. Despite the prominent markings, compliance remains low.

The markings have been completed on the stretch from Thalappady to Chengala in Kasaragod, including clear indicators for turns near underpasses. However, even when drivers follow the left-side rule, difficulties persist. The service road includes a drainage channel and an adjacent footpath.

In commercial areas, near the shops, the absence of barriers between the footpath and the service road has turned these spaces into informal parking zones, further slowing traffic.

A lack of awareness of how to properly use the service road since its opening has also contributed to widespread, unregulated parking. In many places, vehicles left in the morning remain for hours, creating blocks.

As a result, when vehicles arrive from both directions at once, traffic becomes impossible to manage. In some stretches, parts of the footpath-service road junction have turned into auto-rickshaw stands. Drivers say constant rush outside major shops prevents the road from ever being fully clear, making it difficult to follow the markings even when they try.

Despite earlier notifications banning two-wheelers, three-wheelers, tractors and similar vehicles from the national highway, the number of bikes and autos on the main road has not declined. Authorities warn that if these vehicles begin to rely solely on the service road, congestion will worsen. Without immediate measures to ensure the service road is fully usable, the risk of accidents will increase, they say.