A total of 323 vulnerable corridors out of the 4,529 black-spot clusters on national and State highways in Kerala have been listed as priority corridors where urgent accident-prevention measures are on the anvil.
These black-spot clusters ranging from 2 km to 12 km were accorded priority for urgent remedial measures based on the black-spot cluster severity index. Five or more accident-related deaths were recorded in each of these clusters during the 2018-2020 period, said T. Elangovan, Executive Director of Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA).
The agency would shortly send a report to all District Collectors and officials of the Public Works department (PWD) who ought to do a safety audit of these locales, in tandem with officials of the Revenue department and local bodies. Short-term measures such as clearing of grass, debris and encroachments that affect visibility and also reduce the width of highways would have to be done as soon as possible, to be followed by long-term measures.
Accountability
Aimed at ensuring accountability, the PWD/National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) engineer concerned will be held responsible for any accident caused due to improper road engineering. On their part, the Motor Vehicles department (MVD) personnel ought to reduce the number of accident fatalities and those that cause serious injuries by at least by 20% by December by clamping down on rash driving and stepping up rule enforcement, sources said.
Elaborating on the causes of accidents, they spoke of how these were caused on these corridors mostly due to shoddy road engineering, prevalence of potholes, improper land use (such as using roads/road shoulder for illegal parking and encroachments), rash driving, mechanical fault of vehicles and inadequate safety awareness among road users.
A total of 149 of the 333 black-spot clusters that are highly vulnerable to accidents were located in NHs, while 174 were in State highways, said sources in NATPAC which readied their list. These clusters together accounted for over 50% of the total 4,529 black-spot clusters which are spread over 2,200 km of road length and constitute 33% of the total length of highways in the State, they added.
Such accident-prone spots abound in the State, primarily because the PWD and the NHAI have been found wanting in ensuring the upkeep of junctions, roads, footpaths/pavements and due to inadequate sign boards, signal systems, lights and allied infrastructure. The funds for remedial measures are expected from KRSA, local bodies and MP/MLA funds.
