HYDERABAD: Two tragic accidents on Outer Ring Road that claimed the lives of eight youngsters in a span of a fortnight has brought the issue of safe driving (or lack of it) to focus. Statistics for 2016 show that 57 per cent of accidents were due to over-speeding and another 34 per cent was due to losing control while at the wh-eel. Also, day time accidents are more than nig-ht time ones, indicating that time of occurrence was not the criteria.
According to experts, it all boils down to skills and driving habits of the persons. Driving on ring roads and highways or city routes is a different issue altogether. “The driving techniq-ues and methods are entirely different on ring roads. Lane discipline and maintaining minimum distance from other vehicles is the key. Those with less driving experience will be all at sea once they get on ORR. Prior driving on a simulator helps a bit,” said, Dr D.N.Rao, promoter of Drive Logics that focuses on safe driving training.
Dr Rao added that he had seen many ring roads across the world, including the famous Paris Ring Road. As far as road engineering is concerned, Hyderabad ORR is up there with the best in the world. The problem was not with the road but with driving skills. The fact that 88 per cent of accidents occurred on straight stretches backs up the argument of the expert.
Prof.G.V.K.Reddy from Vardhman Engineering College, who takes lessons on traffic engineering pointed out that 31 per cent of accidents were due to rear-end collisions. “Overspeeding vehicles tend to hit the rear of slow moving vehicles leading to accidents. Less mature drivers are more prone to accidents as was the case in recent fatal accidents. Lane discipline is extremely important for safe driving. Improper and sudden change of lanes results in rear-end collisions,” he said.
Vignesh dreamt of career in automobile:
Eighteen year-old Vignesh Tiwari who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident was a hardcore vehicle lover and a good driver, his relatives said. His neighbour Anil Mallick said that Vigne-sh was an ‘encyclopaedia on vehicles’. He dreamt of pursuing a career in the automobile industry. Another victim Mami-dala Rahul was an aspiring model and even wor-ked for few short films.
Vignesh is the elder son of Vishwanath Tiwari who is a director at Gandour India Food Processing Pvt Ltd. He was driving the car at the time of the accident. Vignesh was pursuing automobile engineering at Manipal University in Jaipur. He was an expert driver and was well versed with almost all cars and bikes on Indian roads. “You name a bike or a car and he will give you details of that particular vehicle. Such was his knowledge on vehicles,” his neighbour, Mr Anil Mallick, said. He would even advise people on what type of vehicle they should buy based on their need and budget.
Vignesh’s paternal unc-le, Vijay Tiwari, said that Vignesh was tech savvy when it came to vehicles and their technical detai-ls. “He was a dynamic person,” Mr Vijay said. At the same time he had the utmost respect for elders," Mr Vijay said. Vignesh came home only two days ago on vacation and was planning to leave after the New Year. On the fateful day, he took out the SUV while his father was away in Mumbai on a business trip. Rahul's friends termed him an energetic person who had all the qualities of a 'supermodel'.
"He was a gem, he was handsome and he was tall. But now he is lying helpless just like nothing. This is a very sad ending for such a person,' one of his friend said. Another accident victim, Harminder Singh Saluja was planning to take over his father's business after studies. Family members, relatives and friends of the four boys who met a tragic end in Sunday's accident broke down as their bodies moved out of the mortuary after autopsy on Monday morning.
2016 proved to be most tragic year:
Nearly 200 persons have died in accidents on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) from 2011 till date. However, 2016 proved to be the most tragic year with death toll crossing 735, which is the highest since the ORR’s inception. Most of the accidents are seen on Gachibowli-Shamshabad stretch (24.3 km) compared to other sections. This is due to more intensity of traffic, overspeeding of vehicles and bad condition of wheels, according to observations by officials.
Although road engineering is of the highest standard, effective enfor-cement like imposing penalties on overspeeding drivers is the need of the hour. For instance, on the road route to Tirumala Hills from Alipiri Gate, vehicles that reach faster than the stipulated time are imposed fines. HMDA Chief General Manager (ORR) B. Anand Mohan said that they are coming out with sophisticated HTMS (Highway Traffic Management System) for safe driving. “Real time alerts on road conditions, weather and traffic would be given through digital sign boards at each junction besides procuring high end CCTVs, section speed guns etc. This project will come into operation from next year. The police department is looking after the issue of imposing penalties on violators. However, under HTMS, both HMDA and police will work in tandem to ensure drivers follow rules,” he said.
Engineering expert Prof.G.V.K.Reddy suggested measures like enhancing police patrolling, use of radar guns to check speed, comparing exit and entry time at toll booths and issuing challans automatically to keep the drivers under check on ORR.
