Karnataka - Bangalore   

Pedestrian deaths rising

LAW &ORDER There is a general impression that the authorities have ignored pedestrian safety, writes K.V. Subramanya

HOSUR ROAD, Sarjapur Road, Bannerghatta Road, Tumkur Road, Mysore Road and the outer ring roads in the city have virtually turned into death traps for pedestrians.

Nearly 300 pedestrians are killed in road accidents in the city every year and 50 per cent of them are reported from these roads.

With the number of pedestrian deaths increasing every year, there is a general impression that the authorities have ignored pedestrian safety.

More than half of the people killed and injured in road accidents are pedestrians.

Reasons

Senior police officers in the traffic wing admit that there has been an increase in pedestrian deaths and injuries in road accidents. They attribute various reasons for it.

The police say that after several roads in the city were made one-way, the speed level of vehicles has increased and the pedestrians are at a disadvantage.

Further, the pedestrian behaviour itself is one of the main causes for such accidents. People tend to walk on roads and cross the roads where they are not supposed to.

As the outer ring roads are good, drivers are tempted to over speed and in the process pedestrians get hit, the police say.

But the major cause of such accidents is the inadequate pedestrian facilities all over the city.

There are no pedestrian subways, foot-over-bridges and zebra crossings on many busy roads, including J.C. Road and Kempe Gowda Road in the heart of the city.

On the entire Hosur Road stretch, where vehicles normally over speed, there is not a single pedestrian crossing. Pedestrian safety has been totally ignored, says an official.

As a large number of industries, educational institutions and business establishments dot Hosur Road, there is heavy pedestrian movement there. Many of the pedestrians who have got killed on Hosur Road are those who were drunk.

Many liquor shops that have come up on this road are indirectly contributing to accidents, the police say.

An official suggests that apart from providing good and fenced footpaths and educating people about general pedestrian behaviour, the police should also come out with site-specific solutions to bring down the number of road accidents.

Having more pedestrian subways and foot-over-bridges and checking the speed limit of vehicles can reduce the accidents involving pedestrians, he feels.

The police have suggested to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike to provide subways and foot-over-bridges at 105 places in the city, which have been identified as accident-prone.

Safety

To ensure safety of pedestrians, the police recently installed pedestrian-controlled traffic signals at eight junctions in the city.

Whenever pedestrians want to cross the roads at these places, they themselves can switch on the signals.

Once the signal is switched on, pedestrians will get 15 seconds to cross the road. After 15 seconds, the signal gets locked for two minutes.

The other pedestrians have to wait for two minutes to switch on the signal again.

According to the police, all the roads on which these signals have been installed are one-ways and have heavy pedestrian movement.

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