A 24-hour Kerala highway patrol squad equipped for accident response, roadside breakdown assistance and emergency support has been deployed on the national highway between Kumbalam and Karukuttur, according to a report by Mathrubhumi. The squad will operate in three shifts under the supervision of the Ernakulam Deputy Transport Commissioner.
The patrol will cover the highway stretch across Ernakulam district, with Motor Vehicle Inspectors and Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspectors drawn from Ernakulam, Kottayam and Idukki districts. The deployment is intended to reduce accidents and improve night-time safety on a corridor where stalled vehicles and poorly visible accident sites can create additional risks for motorists.
The patrol vehicle has been equipped to support officials during roadside inspections and emergency interventions. The equipment includes collar blinker lights integrated into officers’ clothing, LED blinker cones, warning triangles, high-power torches and portable LED floodlights. Barricade tape, baton lights, a first-aid box, a fire extinguisher and a tool kit are also part of the vehicle’s emergency equipment.
The squad will also carry a jump starter for vehicles with drained batteries and an inflator for tyres that have lost air. These facilities expand the patrol’s role beyond checking vehicle documents and issuing fines. Officials are expected to respond to night-time accidents, assist vehicles stranded on the roadside and provide support to members of the public during emergencies.
The deployment also gives the Motor Vehicles Department a formal role in identifying recurring accident locations. The squad will give priority to finding black spots on the highway and will coordinate with the Road Safety Division, the Public Works Department, the National Highways Authority of India and the police to introduce necessary safety measures at locations considered hazardous.
The patrol vehicle and its equipment will be maintained at the parking ground of SCMS College. Officials taking charge of each shift will record the handover of the vehicle and equipment in a register before beginning patrol duty. The three-shift arrangement is intended to ensure that coverage continues throughout the day and night rather than being limited to regular office hours.
For motorists, the operational significance of the squad lies in the combination of visibility, first response and basic breakdown assistance. A vehicle stopped in darkness can become a hazard for its occupants and approaching traffic, particularly if the location is not adequately illuminated or marked. The lights, cones, warning triangles and barricade equipment are designed to make such situations visible while officials attend to the incident.
The report does not provide accident-reduction targets, response-time benchmarks or details of the squad’s staffing strength in each shift. Its immediate focus, as described by the Motor Vehicles Department’s deployment, is round-the-clock monitoring of the Kumbalam-Karukuttur national highway stretch, emergency intervention and coordination with other agencies at accident-prone locations.
