Caution: Old Madras Road takes deadly toll

Old Madras Road, which leads to Hosakote, Kolar and the Andhra Pradesh border, is one of Bengaluru's most vital connecting roads. Also called National Highway 4, lorries, buses and heavy goods vehicles are a common sight, as are speeding city commuters. This has also earned it the distinction of being Bengaluru's deadliest stretch - the absence of speedbreakers, lack of police presence and constant jaywalking are some of the reasons behind this. With seven deaths in January 2018 alone, traffic police efforts like signboards and traffic signals at key spots have done little to mitigate the risk without crossing-points, skywalks and other pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, reports  Nikhil Gangadhar.

If you have lived in Bengaluru for any length of time, you could not have missed the Old Madras Road (OMR) leading to Hosakote, Kolar, Mulbagal, Chittoor bordering Andhra Pradesh and other out of town destinations. Choc-a-block with traffic most days, it often has pedestrians adding to the chaso as they try to get across it in the little time they have between speeding vehicles. Also called National Highway - 4   OMR sees a constant flow of traffic with lorries, buses and heavy goods vehicles making up 60 per cent of it and  light motor vehicles and two-wheelers the rest,  going by the traffic police.

Not surprisingly, it is also one of the deadliest stretches of Bengaluru, seeing a large number of accidents, many of them fatal.  Going by the city traffic police, the OMR stretch from Benniganahalli to Medahalli sees the highest number of  road accidents. In fact,  OMR has already seen six accidents claim seven lives and  22 other accidents leave 28 injured in January this year. It’s not without reason that the KR Puram traffic police, which covers OMR , usually records the highest number of accidents in a  month.

Says a senior traffic police officer, “OMR sees  a large number of accidents due to rash and negligent driving. In most  cases the victims are either pedestrians or two-wheeler riders.  The high traffic density of vehicles, over speeding, rash and negligent driving, abrupt lane changing and so on all contribute to the accidents.” The officer  says the accidents usually take place during peak hours and late night or early morning. “Many of the accidents are also self- inflicted as overspeeding motorists often fail to notice road medians  and ram into them, getting killed in the process. Also, locals tend to ride on the stretch without helmets and die on the spot in case of an accident. They should be more responsible. People too tend to cross the road anywhere they like,” the officer regrets.

Revealing that the police are working on ways to ensure that vehicles do not overspeed, he says “We are  building speedbreakers to stop vehicles from overspeeding and medians  to ensure that pedestrians do not cross the road wherever they like. We are also planning to take stringent action against jay walkers.”

Ask Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), R Hithendra about the chaos on OMR and he says the police have been constantly penalising  motorists for traffic violations on the stretch. “We will take more stringent action and do constant policing to ensure that motorists do not indulge in rash driving,” he assures, pointing out that the traffic police has already put up sign boards and installed traffic signals at spots that are vulnerable to accidents. “But motorists too need to be more responsible when out on the roads and stop indulging in rash and negligent driving,” he stresses.

Road needs stringent police vigil: Residents
A bakery owner near K RPuram, Mohan Kumar, says there are two or three minor accidents every day and  around two major accidents that leave people dead or seriously injured every week on Old Madras Road. “The road is a busy one and people are always seen crossing it anywhere they like. As the vehicles are speeding, they mow them down,” he recounts.

Lamenting the absence of a pedestrian signal or skywalk on the road, he says people have little choice but to risk their lives while crossing it . “ There should be speed-breakers at every point where a crossroad meets the main road and the traffic police should install rumblers as well,” he suggests. Mr Kumar hopes the police will book motorists jumping traffic signals to stop the dangerous practice and do something about the rampant roadside parking by cabs and bus drivers on the stretch .

Also, observes Mr Rehamath Sahib, a senior finance analyst in a reputed company  near Benniganahalli bridge, “There are so many crossroads  joining the main stretch of the OMR but there is no traffic signal or a policeman regulating traffic at these points. As it is a highway, vehicles are travelling at high speed and fail to notice others coming in from the crossroads and this leads to fatal accidents.”

Worse, he notes, that buses often stop to pick up passengers at a bus stop right at the beginning of the cable stayed bridge (from Benniganahalli to KR Puram) and people  run to board them, putting their lives at risk as  other vehicles zip past at high speed. “In fact, the entire stretch does not have proper traffic regulation,” he regrets.

Hard to identify risk factors without a detailed study: B Dayananda, Former Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic)
The Old Madras Road has always been  dangerous, especially for pedestrians and two-wheelers. During my tenure as traffic head in Bengaluru, the traffic density increased rapidly on the stretch and so did accidents. It’s difficult to identify the factors responsible. What we need is a detailed study about the roads, their vehicle density during the day and night, the speed limit and so on to arrive at the reasons. Various advanced analytic tools are available today and they could be made use for the study.  Also road planners and traffic experts could help with their insights.

Once such a study is carried out , corrective measures can be chalked out and analysed properly before being implemented. A feasibility check can also be carried out and a few measures taken to curb accidents. We need to have speed-breakers at the right places and proper signboards erected at the right spots, besides constant checking of vehicles indulging in traffic violations. Traffic police visibility could help too as it could prove a deterrent to motorists , who would then be afraid of getting caught for violating the rules. But this is just one aspect as the police cannot be present everywhere round- the- clock. Rather, motorists should be responsible and make sure they don’t get involved in accidents.