Overview

• A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar holds that abrupt, unannounced stops on highways constitute negligence requiring clear warnings to trailing vehicles.
• The court apportions fault at 50% to the car driver, 30% to the bus driver and 20% to the motorcyclist in the 2017 Coimbatore accident.
• It rejects the car driver’s emergency plea—citing his pregnant wife’s nausea—as an unreasonable defense under highway safety norms.
• Total compensation is fixed at ₹1.14 crore but trimmed by 20% for the motorcyclist’s contributory negligence in riding without a valid licence and following too closely.
• Insurers for both the car and bus must pay the revised award within four weeks of the July 29 judgment.