Over-speeding, a killer as Pune records 424 road accidents in six months

Conventional wisdom has it that ‘speed thrills, but kills’; however, people in Pune forget that when they take the drivers seat

Conventional wisdom has it that ‘speed thrills, but kills’; however, people in Pune forget that when they take the drivers seat. According to the data shared by Pune traffic police, 424 road accidents, 161 deaths were reported between January and June 2022.

According to the data shared by Pune traffic police, 424 road accidents, 161 deaths were reported between January and June 2022. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

Rahul Shrirame, deputy commissioner of police (traffic) said, “Majority of the accidents take place on Sinhagad-Katraj highway, Pune-Solapur highway, Navale bridge among other areas. This is mainly due to heavy vehicles over-speeding on highways along with negligent driving.”

“We have started helmet and road safety awareness drives. We have also made suggestions like adding include sign boards, direction boards and traffic signals in major areas,” added Shrirame. These suggestions have been implemented at Katraj-Sinhagad road and Navale bridge

According to police, most of the accidents occur from 9 to 12 in the morning and 6 to 9 in the evening in Pune city. Apart from rash driving, infrastructural issues have also caused accidents in some areas.

VG Kulkarni, head of the road department of PMC said, “The department has adopted three policies to change the road infrastructure- pedestrian policy, plans for cycle path, and road designing. Under the road design, we will make sure that the area is wide and no digging will be done. This will avoid accidents.”

The infrastructural development by the road department is an ongoing process and around 50km have been reformed. “Changes have been made in areas like Baner, Sus road, Rajbhavan road, Nagar road and JM road. All the roads of Pune will be developed within the next three years,” added Kulkarni.

Along with the city roads, the highway authority has made efforts to prevent accidents. Ankit Yadav, deputy manager of National Highways’ Authority of India, Pune, said, “The boards of speed limit, warning signs, regulatory signs have been put up to avoid accidents. Additionally, lane markings, cat eyes are being put up as short-term measures.”

In addition to over-speeding and infrastructural issues, there are some other reasons causing the accidents. “The recent directive preventing Pune traffic police to take spot actions lead to undisciplined drivers and more accidents.The contactless/ camera-based actions are also ineffective in punishing violators,” said Sandeep Gaikwad, senior programme associate, Parisar.