Experts: Speeding on poorly maintained Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway could prove fatal | India News
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MUMBAI: Experts and motorists frequently using the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway said it was poorly maintained and when combined with speeding, the result could be fatal. Ex-chairman of Tata Sons Cyrus Mistry was killed in a car crash at Charoti in Palghar on Sunday while travelling from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. Police said the driver took the old bridge which is at a lower level than the new bridge which is at an elevation. The state highway police will be carrying out a cause analysis at the location.
Communications professional Naraayan Kannan, who commutes frequently on the highway, said many stretches were pockmarked and traffic discipline very low. “About two months ago, the front right wheel of my car got damaged while I was driving at night in heavy rain on the highway. On the stretch from Charoti to Vapi and from Vapi to Daman, there are craters in the middle of the highway. There is zero lane discipline and people overtake with very low caution,” Kannan said.
Transport activist Jagdeep Desai, who often travels on this route, said there was lack of traffic discipline among truck and bus drivers in particular. “Many vehicles can be seen overtaking from the left. Also, the road is uneven in some patches,” he said.
More than one person died every hour in Maharashtra in road-related crashes in 2021, as per data released by the NCRB. Maharashtra ranked third highest in the number of road crash related deaths with 13911 casualties, coming after UP and Tamil Nadu. Speeding and dangerous driving were the top causes.
“India accounts for 11% of global road traffic fatalities with just 2% of vehicle share. We’ve made commitments to reduce these fatalities significantly at several global platforms, most recently the ratifying of the Stockholm Declaration where India committed to reduce fatalities by 50% by 2030. But the most critical consensus in Stockholm was that speeding is the main concern. This crash was perhaps no different. We have to focus on managing speeds to reduce crashes and it begins with designing safer infrastructure. One cannot expect to design a road that allows for 160km/hr and hope that everyone will go at 80km/hr,” said Dhawal Ashar, senior manager (integrated transport), WRI India.
“There are few hospitals close to ‘black spots’. The government should set up several trauma care centres … so that it takes very less time to get any crash victim admitted to a hospital. It is crucial to get a victim treated during the initial golden hour after a crash,” said Nitin Dossa of Western India Automobile Association. He added that there is a need for greater enforcement to curb crashes. Black spots are stretches of about 500m where either five road crashes took place in three calendar years or 10 fatalities in all three years combined. “We regularly alert road maintenance agencies about black spots, quality of highways and their vulnerabilities,” said KK Sarangal, additional DG (state traffic).
Communications professional Naraayan Kannan, who commutes frequently on the highway, said many stretches were pockmarked and traffic discipline very low. “About two months ago, the front right wheel of my car got damaged while I was driving at night in heavy rain on the highway. On the stretch from Charoti to Vapi and from Vapi to Daman, there are craters in the middle of the highway. There is zero lane discipline and people overtake with very low caution,” Kannan said.
Transport activist Jagdeep Desai, who often travels on this route, said there was lack of traffic discipline among truck and bus drivers in particular. “Many vehicles can be seen overtaking from the left. Also, the road is uneven in some patches,” he said.
More than one person died every hour in Maharashtra in road-related crashes in 2021, as per data released by the NCRB. Maharashtra ranked third highest in the number of road crash related deaths with 13911 casualties, coming after UP and Tamil Nadu. Speeding and dangerous driving were the top causes.
“India accounts for 11% of global road traffic fatalities with just 2% of vehicle share. We’ve made commitments to reduce these fatalities significantly at several global platforms, most recently the ratifying of the Stockholm Declaration where India committed to reduce fatalities by 50% by 2030. But the most critical consensus in Stockholm was that speeding is the main concern. This crash was perhaps no different. We have to focus on managing speeds to reduce crashes and it begins with designing safer infrastructure. One cannot expect to design a road that allows for 160km/hr and hope that everyone will go at 80km/hr,” said Dhawal Ashar, senior manager (integrated transport), WRI India.
“There are few hospitals close to ‘black spots’. The government should set up several trauma care centres … so that it takes very less time to get any crash victim admitted to a hospital. It is crucial to get a victim treated during the initial golden hour after a crash,” said Nitin Dossa of Western India Automobile Association. He added that there is a need for greater enforcement to curb crashes. Black spots are stretches of about 500m where either five road crashes took place in three calendar years or 10 fatalities in all three years combined. “We regularly alert road maintenance agencies about black spots, quality of highways and their vulnerabilities,” said KK Sarangal, additional DG (state traffic).
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