Nothing is more paradoxical than this. The officials have decided not to register new vehicles unless they are pasted with reflective stickers, as one of the measures to check road accidents. Strangely, they are unaware of the road dividers without radium signage that are resulting in accidents everyday!
While the successive governments make tall promises of making the State capital world-class, the roads present a pathetic picture.
If potholes slow down the traffic and lack of zebra crossings make it difficult for a pedestrian to cross, the medians without radium signals are turning out to be dangerous.
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The dividers are laid only to prevent/reduce accidents by avoiding head-on collisions. The Secunderabad Club-Trimulgherry stretch is a classic case.
This stretch attained the dubious distinction of accident-prone zone with buses and heavy vehicles plying frequently and invariably colliding against oncoming vehicles.
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After numerous pleas from people, finally the authorities laid a median on this stretch a couple of years ago bringing down the accidents considerably.
Ironically, the same divider is posing threat to the commuters in the night with no reflective signs on it.
Accident
A vehicle driver going from Lamba theatre end to Karkhana would turn left at Secunderabad Club gate. The road divider beginning in front of the club would not be visible to the commuters in the dark since it does not have any reflector sign. Many motorcyclists have sustained injuries hitting against this median unable to locate it exactly.
Few years ago, a youngster returning home in his car rammed on to the median before Lamba theatre and died instantly.
After his tragic death, the authorities installed a steel frame with reflective paint. Eventually, it faded, never to be repainted, thus posing a threat to the lives of people travelling on this route.
The situation is same everywhere. Even the well-planned, four-lane Nizamabad-Hyderabad stretch which has a median with well-grown plants in the middle doesn’t sport radium signals. The traffic police of Hyderabad and Cyberabad come out with stock answers like “We told the road and municipal officials and waiting for them to act”.