Gurugram police install crash barriers to reduce accidents on expressway

Traffic police officers said they had studied the pattern and cause of fatalities and found that speeding and sudden lane cutting were the major reasons for accidents

Gurugram traffic police on Friday began installing tyre barriers near Kherki Daula Toll plaza to reduce accident-related fatalities on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway.

Gurugram traffic police installed tyre crash barriers on National Highway-48 at Kherki Daula toll plaza, near Sector-82 in Gurugram on Friday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

Police said they have identified 200 accident-prone spots where crash barriers will be installed within 60 days.

The crash barriers will help absorb the impact and reduce the severity of an accident. They work well with small and medium-sized vehicles, but are not 100% successful in holding back heavily loaded trucks and vehicles moving at very high speed, leading to roll-down accidents.

Virender Singh Sangwan, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said, “We had rounds of discussion and spot visits to understand the logic behind crash barriers and with the help of the Delhi Road safety team, we installed it at two locations -- Kherki Daula toll plaza and Bristol crossing.”

New Jersey barriers made of cement were removed and barriers made of coloured tyres were installed at the zebra crossing of Kherki Daula toll plaza and Bristol Chowk.

Police said the purpose of installing these coloured tyres is that U-turns and dividers can be easily identified by people at night or in low visibility or fog.

Sangwan said the crash barriers will be installed at spots where the sight distance is less than 40 metres and radius of curve is less than 50 metres. They will also be installed at places where crossroads are at acute angles.

Sangwan said they are planning to line the expressway and major stretches with bordered metallic crash barriers. “Even in case of accidents, the impact will not be so strong that it causes death. The tyre will take the impact and fatal accidents can be avoided,” he said.

Traffic police officers said they had studied the pattern and cause of fatalities and found that speeding and sudden lane cutting were the major reasons for accidents.

Sangwan said that under this campaign, a survey was done at different places in the district and the coloured tyres were provided by PSL.

The Gurugram traffic police has imposed a generic speed limit across the city. The speed limit for cars on highways is 90kmph, and for two-wheelers and heavy vehicles is 50kmph. On major municipal roads, it is 50kmph for cars and two-wheelers and 30kmph for heavy vehicles. On state highways, it is 80kmph for cars and 50kmph for two-wheelers and heavy vehicles.

Gurugram reported 855 accidents between January and November 30 and 360 fatalities in these accidents. According to police officers, while 409 people were killed in road accidents in 2021, 375 lost their lives in 2020.