Noida: Commuters advised to drive slow on Yamuna E-way as visibility drops

Police said that traffic personnel have been deployed at different places on the expressway to advise commuters to observe safety

The traffic police on Wednesday advised commuters to drive slow on the Yamuna Expressway, saying that the visibility has sharply dropped due to foggy conditions. Police said that traffic personnel have been deployed at different places on the expressway to advise commuters to observe safety.

(HT archive)

Ganesh Prasad Saha, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Gautam Budh Nagar, said that the fog has reduced the visibility on the Yamuna Expressway. “In fog and inclement weather conditions, people should drive slow. They should also use the low beam lights to make themselves visible to others. The reflective tapes on the vehicles also play an important role in safety. We have also deployed traffic police personnel at the toll plazas to make announcement for safe driving,” he said.

Saha said that the traffic police personnel share live updates from different places to facilitate commuting. “The police personnel share short videos from the spot. The videos are tweeted using official twitter handle (@noidatraffic). The video helps the commuters get an idea of the weather conditions and plan accordingly,” he said.

Muazzam Khan, a resident of Jewar, said that the visibility on Wednesday morning reduced to about 20 metres on the Yamuna Expressway. “It was difficult to drive on the expressway in the morning hours,” he said.

The Yamuna Expressway authority has already reduced the speed limit of heavy vehicles from 80 to 60 km/hr and for light vehicles 100 to 75 km/hr from December 15 to February 15.

RK Jenamani, senior scientist at India Meteorological Department (IMD), said no fog was witnessed till January 30 in the NCR due to strong wind. “The wind weakened and this led to fog on January 31 and February 1. In Delhi region, the visibility was about 100 metres in the early morning hours. There is a forecast of light rain on Thursday and the situation may improve,” he said.

As per the IMD, on Wednesday, Noida recorded minimum temperature at 11.2 degrees Celsius and maximum at 22.1 degrees Celsius.