Drunk & speeding on sealink? Traffic police are watching you

After three accidents that left two dead and 10 others injured on the Bandra-Worli sealink in the last 11 days, the traffic police have got cracking on speed demons and drunken drivers.

After three accidents that left two dead and 10 others injured on the Bandra-Worli sealink in the last 11 days, the traffic
police have got cracking on speed demons and drunken drivers.

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They have stepped up patrolling along the 5.6-km-long sea bridge, and deployed more personnel at both entry points to catch errant drivers.

Last week, the traffic police penalised more than 100 people for driving over the speed limit — 55 kmph — on the sealink and let go 250 after warning.

Since June 30, when the sealink was opened for vehicular traffic, the traffic police have penalised 4,187 drivers for speeding and collected more than Rs 6 lakh as fine.

“It is not possible to station police personnel on the sealink but we had been patrolling on motorcycles and a Bolero. But now we have intensified patrolling,” said a traffic police officer, requesting anonymity.

A senior traffic official said: “We had identified three major accidents spots on the sealink where there are sharp curves. Anti-speed rumblers (rubber speed bumps), 1.5 cm thick, and cat’s eyes (retroreflective safety device used in road marking) have been installed before the curves on these spots to help reduce the speed of vehicles.”

Police commissioner D Sivanandhan said the traffic police can not monitor every vehicle driving on the sealink, instead drivers should follow road discipline. “We will catch hold of every drunken driver and try to stop speeding on the sealink,” said Sivanandhan.

A day after three people suffered injuries after a head-on collision between two vehicles on the sealink, the police are awaiting the driver’s medical report to confirm if he was drunk when the accident took place.

Worli police said the accident resulted after television actor Ashu Singh (27) lost control of his Swift and veered on to the other lane, where he crashed head-on into a Zen coming from the opposite direction. Singh, who has been charged with rash and negligent driving, will be arrested after he is discharged.

“We had sent Singh’s blood report to analyse the alcohol level in his blood. We will get the reports by Friday after which an additional charge will be added against him,” said Senior Police Inspector Bharat Worlikar.