E-Paper
Fewer deaths on E-way
The number of accident-related deaths on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway between June and December 2009 has declined by 40 per cent compared with the preceding year.
The number of accident-related deaths on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway between June and December 2009 has declined by 40 per cent compared with the preceding year.
Twenty-five deaths were reported in 2009. The figure for the same period in 2008 was 45.
The figures also point to a decline in the number of pedestrian deaths — from 16 in 2008 to 13 between June and December in 2009.
The work of erecting two-metre-high iron fence on the median of the expressway to discourage pedestrians from crossing the stretch on foot was completed in June 2009 only. A sign that the fence may have had a role in fewer pedestrians trying to cross the road, leading to fatalities.
September 2009 saw the launch of two additional foot-over-bridges (FOBs) — between Shakar Chowk and Rajiv Chowk (the highly crowded stretch that had DLF city on one side and industrial hub Udyog Vihar on the other).
The 27.7-km-long expressway was opened on January 23, 2008 and a total of 120 people have died in accidents so far.
Initially, a short iron fence on the median dissuaded pedestrians from crossing the road on foot. There were only two FOBs, near Rao Tula Ram Marg crossing. The National Highway Authority of India had decided to erect iron fencing and the five additional FOBs as the death-count rose.
“Had the NHAI acted on the advice of an independent consultant on time in 2007, the death toll could have been much lower,” said K.S. Anand, whose son had died in a car accident in March 2009.
