Low visibility due to fog leads to two accidents on expressway

Low visibility due to fog led to two minor accidents on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway on early Sunday morning, said Gurugram traffic police officials.

Low visibility due to fog led to two minor accidents on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway on early Sunday morning, said Gurugram traffic police officials.

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In the first incident, a MUV hit a sedan from behind at the Jharsa Chowk flyover around 5.15 am. No injuries were reported. In the second incident, a hatchback collided with a motorcyclist at Rajiv Chowk around 5.30 am. The motorcyclist, who has been identified as Ajay Kumar, is a resident of Mahipalpur in Delhi and was heading home from Bilaspur when the incident took place. He suffered minor injuries.

As per police officials, both accidents occurred due to poor visibility as the areas were covered in a thick blanket of fog. In both incidents, no cases were registered.

Heavy early morning fog also added to the woes of commuters. Residents who travelled during the early morning hours said that for the most of their journey they drove with hazard lights on and, even when driving on the national highway, they did not accelerate above a speed of 50 kmph.

“There was zero visibility for most part of my journey. At several points, I thought of returning back to my parents’ home or stopping on the side of the road for a brief period until the visibility improved. I realised that stopping on the side of the road may be extremely unsafe due to poor visibility. A driver may not been able to spot a stationary car and could collide with it. Hence, I decided to continue driving at a slow speed and finish my journey,” said Gaurav Bansal, a resident of Sector 31, who was travelling back home from Central Delhi.

Coincidentally on Saturday, Gurugram traffic police had updated commuters over social media that they are installing reflector tapes at key points across the city to assist drivers when they are driving during low visibility. On Friday, they had also issued a safety advisory to motorists over social media listing precautions they need to keep in mind when driving during low visibility. These included, keeping lights of the vehicle on low beam for better visibility, driving at low speeds, using roadside reflectors to navigate, keeping a safe distance from the vehicles ahead and avoid overtaking.

“Over the last week, we have identified key stretches across the city where there are blind spots that can result in accidents during fog. At all such points, reflector tapes have been installed, medians have been painted to ensure commuters can navigate through these stretches during low visibility. In addition, we have also issued a fog advisory for residents.It is vital that they follow them to keep themselves and others safe while driving,” said DK Bharadwaj, DCP traffic, Gurugram police.