Problem areas on roads yet to be identified

While the problems on accident-prone stretches on state highways have been fixed, the condition of the roads in the city hasn’t improved.

While the problems on accident-prone stretches on state highways have been fixed, the condition of the roads in the city hasn’t improved.

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In 2009, 583 persons were killed in road accidents at 100 spots on highways across the state. Following a survey, the state highway police identified the spots where more than three persons had died in a year and where the frequency of accidents was high. Terming such stretches as black spots, the highway police asked the state public works department (PWD) to take steps to reduce the number of accidents. The PWD then undertook corrective measures on the black spots.

But, in case of roads in city, no such steps have been taken. “Potholes, lack of speed breakers and illumination, and steep blinding curves make city roads prone to accidents. We need to conduct a safety audit and identify the dangerous spots,” said Allka Shah, member of road safety advisory committee for the Mumbai police. “Though conducting audits is a long and tedious procedure, it is the need of the hour,” she added.

Apart from identifying the spots, experts feel that engineers should come up with suggestions for the public works department to reduce the number of accidents on the roads. It could include installation of speed breakers, trimming trees, fixing speed arresters, reducing curves and slopes, among others.

When asked why the black spots in the city were not yet identified, Vivek Phansalkar, joint commissioner of police, traffic, said: “It is the job of the public works department.”