For the fourth year in a row, the Old Madras Road has recorded the highest number of deaths due to road accidents in Bengaluru. In all, 38 fatalities were recorded on the stretch till September this year. It is followed by 36 deaths in Whitefield and Chikkajala and 34 deaths in Yelahanka. The city traffic police attribute fatal accidents to reckless driving by motorists and carelessness of pedestrians, who fail to cross the road at designated spots, while people demand more skywalks and more traffic police personnel at crucial junctions to ensure pedestrian safety and to check speeding vehicles, reports Nikhil G.K.
The Old Madras Road (OMR) in Bengaluru, which comes under the K.R. Puram police jurisdiction, continues to be a death trap for motorists and pedestrians. For the fourth year in a row, the K.R. Puram police have recorded the highest number of accidents – fatal and non-fatal.
The Old Madras Road along the National Highway 4, which also connects to Kolar and some districts in Andhra Pradesh, from Beniganahalli railway underbridge right up to Bhattarahalli is considered to be the most dangerous.
The highest number of accidents is reported from K.R. Puram, Whitefield, Chikkajala and Yelahanka, making these stretches the deadliest stretches of Bengaluru.
According to the traffic police, 38 people have died in 37 accidents on the road from January 1 till September 2019.
Whitefield and Chikkajala traffic divisions recorded 36 deaths due to road accidents. Yelahanka division reported 34 deaths till September 2019.
Not only on these stretches, but across the city, most of the accidents occur during early mornings, afternoons and late nights.
A senior traffic police officer said, “These accidents occur early mornings, afternoons and late nights because the traffic flow is low compared to other times. Drivers speed recklessly causing accidents. Also, during these hours, drivers have a tendency to doze and this also leads to accidents.”
He said, “The stretches falling under K.R. Puram, Chikkajala and Yelahanka traffic limits are part of the National Highway where there is movement of heavy vehicles and speeding cabs. Most of the people who get killed are pedestrians and two-wheeler riders.
We have been asking pedestrians to cross the road at proper junctions or to use skywalks, but they don’t seem to listen. They cross the road as per their convenience and get killed. Vehicles are at high speeds on highways and drivers find it difficult to control their vehicles when they find someone suddenly crossing the road.”
Mr P. Harishekaran, former Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), had carried out an extensive research on accident spots in the city. He found that Bhattarahalli Junction on Old Madras Road, B. Narayanapura bus-stop on Mahadevapura Ring Road, ASR Kalyana Mantapa on Ramamurthynagar Ring Road and K.R. Puram bridge are the most accident prone in K.R. Puram. In Yelahanka, Palanahalli Gate, Jakkur Aerodrome, near Indian Air Force campus, Cafe Coffee Day bypass and Kannamangalapalya Gate on B.B. Road were the most dangerous and they continue to remain so.
When the traffic police were asked about the measures taken to avoid accidents, an officer said, “We need skywalks and pelican signals at places where pedestrians cross the road. We need to carry out a research and find out the spots where there is high number of pedestrians crossing the roads. At these points, we have to install pelican signals or construct skywalks or underpasses so that pedestrians can cross the road with ease. This also helps vehicles to slow down and avoids accidents.”
He said that there is a need to put up speed breakers and road markings to signal the motorists to slow down. Speed interceptors are needed and this will help in cutting down the speed of vehicles, especially two-wheelers and cars, including cabs.
“The pedestrians cross the road by jumping over the median which is dangerous. They should also be responsible,” he said.
