The arterial Sahodaran Ayyappan Road that links Vyttila and Pallimukku on M.G. Road has become highly accident-prone thanks to abundance of unscientifically-located U-turns.
The 3-km-long Vyttila-South overbridge stretch alone has 15 big and small U-turns, most of which are accident-prone. The latest on the list of near-fatal accidents occurred late on Friday night, when a superbike going from Vyttila to Kadavanthra rammed a scooter that took a U-turn near Toc-H School Road. The riders of both vehicles sustained serious injuries in the accident that was captured by the CCTV camera of a nearby shop.
Even as the two severely mauled vehicles lay on the roadside, residents and traders staged a demonstration on Saturday, demanding that the police and the Kochi Corporation, which owns S.A. Road, seal the median cutting. “An average of three accidents take place here every week right in front of our eyes. Vehicles from Kadavanthra entering Toc-H Road have to proceed along the wrong side, often colliding with speeding vehicles coming from Vyttila. The metro rail pillars further hamper view.
“Repeated demands from residents associations and political parties to seal the U-turn have fallen on deaf ears. We will again take up the matter with the police,” said Foji John, secretary of Toc-H Road Residents Association and a district-level office-bearer of Aam Aadmi Party.
Inspection
Meanwhile, G. Poonguzhali, DCP (Traffic, Law and Order) said she would inspect the site in the coming week for taking preventive measures. “Accident spots like this at U-turns and other vulnerable areas were expected to be mapped in a study done by Thiruvananthapuram-based NATPAC as part of an endeavour to identify traffic bottlenecks and accident-prone areas in Kochi city and to find solutions. The lockdown slowed down the process. The police have offered assistance for the study,” she added.
Former NATPAC director B.G. Sreedevi said unscientific U-turns abound in most cities in Kerala owing to the prevalence of far too many side roads taking off from arterial roads and highways. “U-turns are permitted only every 2 km on highways to prevent accidents. But they are often found every 50 metres in cities. Even if they are located closer to one another, care must be taken to prevent vehicles entering or exiting them directly from side roads. For this, U-turns must be located away from side roads,” she observed.
Ms. Sreedevi suggested limiting of the number of U-turns and widening of roads in their vicinity. Medians at U-turns must be at least 2 metres wide, so that two-wheelers and light vehicles can safely park themselves within while waiting to go to the other side of the road. Sign boards, speed limit warning, and cats-eye-like studs on the road will help, especially at night, she added.
