The fiery bus crash on a highway in Andhra Pradesh that killed at least 20 people might have been less deadly if it had seats instead of sleeper berths, from which passengers found it difficult to escape. What happened in Kurnool mirrors recent tragedies in Jaisalmer, where a sleeper bus fire killed 25 people, and in Buldhana, Maharashtra, in 2023, where another crash claimed 25 lives. The pattern points to a growing crisis: poorly designed buses are being allowed to operate on highways at high speeds, putting thousands of lives at risk.

Unlike cars of standard design that are crash-tested by specialised agencies, sleeper buses—often built by third-party body manufacturers—frequently fail to meet even the weak norms prescribed........

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