Traffic cops to put in place more road safety features
In a bid to bring down road accidents, Delhi Traffic Police have started the process of identifying accident-prone points on city's important arterial roads. Once the identification process is over, they will install rumble strips, cats' eyes and spring posts on these roads. Subhendu Ray reports.
In a bid to bring down road accidents, Delhi Traffic Police have started the process of identifying accident-prone points on city's important arterial roads. Once the identification process is over, they will install rumble strips, cats' eyes and spring posts on these roads.
The new installations will save the motorists from hitting road dividers, edge of flyovers or constructions like temples or mosques on the middle of the roads and restrict the flow of traffic besides curbing road accidents to a large extent, believe traffic police.
They have managed to bring down road fatalities last year by 13% through rigorous prosecution of drunk and negligent drivers.
Newly appointed chief of traffic police, BS Bassi has set a mission to reduce road mishaps further. He has decided to bring in some geometrical changes to existing road engineering works to reduce mishaps.
"I have asked my officers to identify vulnerable points, where accidents often occur due to the presence of structures on the middle of roads. Once identified, we will install either spring posts, cats' eyes, or rumble strips whichever is suitable at 30 to 40 feet distance from these structures so that a motorist plying at a high speed and unaware of the structures on the road ahead gets enough time and space to control speed and save him from hitting the structures," said Bassi.
"It is necessary to keep lateral clearance along multi-lane highways of at least 1.5-metre width from the edge of the carriageway without any obstacles. Wherever a permanent object cannot be removed for some reason, provision of fenders and hazard markers with reflectors must be made. Further frangible lighting columns and sign posts need to be used for minimising severity in case of collision," said KK Kapila, chairman, International Road Federation, which is jointly working with the ministry of road transport and highways to find out ways to reduce road mortalities in the country.
He said the road transport and the highways ministry have come out with a guideline which all state PWDs should follow to put brakes on road accidents.