35 ‘crash-tyre barricades’ added in Gurugram under traffic safety drive

Police said over 400 collision cushions have been installed citywide since September to reduce impact at black spots, especially in foggy conditions.

At least 35 additional reflective crash-tyre barricades have been installed across Gurugram over the past two weeks as part of the traffic police’s “hazard marking” exercise to prevent road accidents, officials said on Tuesday.

The move follows a recent NH-48 crash near Signature Tower where a tyre barricade prevented casualties, officials said. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

Officials said around 400 collision cushions in the form of drums filled with sand and stacked tyres have been placed at busy city corners and before identified black spots dividing zones on expressways since September. The installations are part of a phased road safety initiative aimed at reducing the impact of high-speed crashes, particularly during foggy conditions.

The latest installations come days after a family of three travelling in a speeding Hyundai i20 narrowly escaped a life-threatening accident near Signature Tower on the Delhi-Gurugram-Jaipur (NH 48) expressway on Friday. A verified video of the incident, widely shared on social media, showed the car ramming into a crash tyre barricade installed at the busy intersection before mounting the divider, with no casualties reported.

As part of the three-phase exercise, officials said 25 additional crash-tyre barricades were installed across NH 48 and DLF locations, including IFFCO Chowk, Signature Tower, Atlas FOB, Lemon Tree Cut, HUDA City Centre, Crowne Plaza and Sector 44. Another 10 barricades were installed earlier in December near Ambedkar Chowk in Sohna and Area Mall in Badshahpur.

The Traffic Engineering Centre (TEC) had earlier conducted an extensive survey to identify accident-prone black spots in high-density traffic areas. In the first phase, vehicles’ shock absorbers were installed at 45 locations between Signature Tower (Sector 14) and Kherki Daula (Sector 84). Subsequent phases focused on installing road safety marking infrastructure on highways, including NH 48, and major city intersections.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Dr Rajesh Mohan said reflective tapes, hazard markers and other visibility-enhancing devices are being prioritised at road entry and exit points to reduce accidents in fog-affected areas. “To ensure safe movement of heavy vehicles at night, instructions were given to coordinate with truck unions and install reflector plates/tapes on the rear of all trucks to increase their visibility at night,” he said.

Traffic officials said reflective tapes have been installed on around 5,000 vehicles at Ambedkar Chowk Sohna, MG Road, Sethi Chowk, Palam Vihar, Badshahpur, Bilaspur Chowk, Golf Course Road, Rajiv Chowk, Kushal Chowk and Bristol Chowk. Motorists have also been advised to avoid roadside parking during fog.