Beware! Traps galore in the fast lane

Police have identified 140 accident prone spots within Vijayawada city limits

Motorists violating rules on the National Highway at Krishnalanka. Photo: V. Raju

Next time you drive along the Ibrahimpatnam Ring Centre, Sitammavaripadalu, Pandit Nehru Bus Station, Fire Station and four other places in the city, be cautious, as police have identified them among the most accident-prone areas and have listed them under ‘A’ category.

Worried over the rising number of accidents in the city, police have identified over 140 places as accident-prone.

Police have classified them into three categories for curbing accidents and for effective traffic monitoring.

The spots where 10 or more accidents occur every year resulting in motorists’ deaths, are put under ‘A’ category, while those with more than three and less than nine accidents are placed under ‘B’ category. ‘C’ category places are the ones where the number of accidents is less than two.

Of the 140 accident-prone areas, eight are placed under ‘A’ category, 73 under ‘B’ category and 61 under ‘C’ category. Interestingly, of the eight ‘A’ category places, six are on National Highway 65, and the remaining two are identified on National Highway 16.

Right from faulty road design to lack of awareness about road safety rules, there are several factors that lead to accidents. Private buses and trucks are involved in most accidents on highways. Bus drivers are always under pressure to reach their respective destinations in time, and in the process, most of them end up in accidents. This apart from faults in roads design, especially on interior roads, which connect the highways, explains a senior traffic official.

Awareness camps

Though many road safety awareness camps and programmes are conducted, several motorists tend to ignore their importance and at times, it leads to accidents. A request was made to the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation to upgrade the existing traffic signals with modern ones, which come with video surveillance cameras. This helps in better traffic regulation and bringing down accidents, he says.

“We are also working on the possibilities to divert heavy vehicles via bypass road and flyovers to control accidents. We will try it under a pilot project,” the official adds.