The Kerala Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan has sought a comprehensive safety review of National Highway 66 after a fatal crash in Thrissur district in which eight engineering students died. He wrote to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari requesting measures to prevent unauthorised and unsafe parking of construction and other heavy vehicles along stretches of NH 66 where work is under way. The chief minister asked the National Highways Authority of India to conduct an immediate independent safety audit of the highway project in the state.

Satheesan said that during construction thousands of motorists and pedestrians use temporary diversions, narrow carriageways and unfinished stretches and that the highest standards of traffic management and road safety are essential. He urged officials to assess whether contractors and concessionaires are complying with NHAI safety guidelines and traffic management plans and to review supervision and monitoring. The request targets signage, lighting, reflective markings and physical protective measures at diversion points.

The crash occurred late on the night of September four when a car carrying students collided with a parked goods lorry at Panambikunnu in Thrissur. The vehicle struck the rear of a Maharashtra-registered lorry as the group were returning from Guruvayur to Kodungallur after a leisure trip; the victims were students of PSNA College of Engineering and Technology in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu. The incident prompted widespread public outrage and calls for immediate safety measures on the highway.

Satheesan has sought a time-bound review and a detailed probe into the circumstances that led to the crash, with attention to the adequacy of temporary diversions, barricades, delineators, crash barriers and other safeguards. He asked for enhanced enforcement to prevent unauthorised parking of heavy vehicles on active carriageways and for prompt remedial measures to avoid recurrence. The state has sought central intervention to ensure lessons from the Thrissur tragedy are translated into safety improvements on NH 66.