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Easy Drive Forum Veteran
Join Date: Aug 2006
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Death Traps Crossing Danger
Death Traps Crossing Danger
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Officials are having a tough time erasing traffic black spots. While they managed to make six dangerous crossings safe last year, six more have made it to the infamous list this time.
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There’s some good news and some bad news for road users in the city. First, the good news: The number of persons killed in road accidents has declined over the past year. But before you start thinking that the city’s roads have become safer, here’s the downer: Six new traffic black spots have been identified which are dangerous for road users.
Out of the latest list of 10 traffic black spots in the city — compiled by the traffic police — four were labelled dangerous even in 2005. The newly identified treacherous stretches include Naraina T-point, Shastri Park, Badarpur crossing, Rajghat crossing, Bhalswa Chowk and Akshardham crossing. The four stretches which continue to be unsafe are ISBT Kashmere Gate, Peeragarhi Chowk, Mukundpur crossing and Wazirpur depot. Of these crossings, ISBT continues to be the most notorious with 17 road accident deaths in 2006 alone.
BLACK SPOTS 2005: ISBT KASHMERE GATE DHAULA KUAN PEERAGARHI CHOWK SARAI KALE KHAN PUNJABI BAGH CROSSING MUKUNDPUR CROSSING BRAR SQUARE WAZIRPUR DEPOT BRITANNIA CHOWK MAKBARA CHOWK
List of ALL 10 traffic black spots in the city
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SHASTRI PARK NO. OF PERSONS KILLED 16
With 16 deaths reported from this intersection in 2006 alone, Shastri Park seems to be another ISBT in the making. The traffic police describe this crossing as one with ‘‘genuine traffic problems’’. The surrounding locality is densely populated, and even to get to their homes from the crossing, commuters have to either walk or take cycle rickshaws. With all types of vehicles on the road — a dangerous mix — and little regard for traffic laws, the crossing becomes particularly unsafe at night. The entry of Delhi Metro here has not made much of a difference.
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NARAINA T-POINT NO. OF PERSONS KILLED 11
After a signal-free ride along the Ring Road, traffic nearly comes to a standstill at Naraina crossing. Last year, encroachments along the main road were removed to make space for more traffic. According to the traffic police, most accidents here are caused by trucks and other heavy vehicles coming from Ring Road. They meddle with traffic turning in, towards Naraina and Loha Mandi, resulting in frequent collisions at the signal. Also, people from shops and houses located on the main road often get in the way of speeding vehicles as they try to wriggle past the traffic. The situation is expected to improve once a flyover comes up here for signalfree movement of traffic from Ring Road. The plan also includes a Y-shaped subway for pedestrians at the crossing. This, the traffic police hope, will ease out the bottleneck.
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BADARPUR NO. OF PERSONS KILLED 10
South Delhi’s Badarpur is an important crossing for commuters travelling between Delhi and the satellite township of Faridabad. Located on NH-2, the intersection has a lot of heavy goods traffic passing through it as well. The main casualties in road accidents here are scores of migrant labourers and their families, who are settled in unauthorised colonies in the vicinity. Labourers from these colonies travel to all corners of Delhi on a daily basis. Rampant encroachments here have taken up a lot of road space and potholes have made the ride more unsafe for two-wheeler riders. ‘‘There have been instances of two-wheeler riders falling into potholes and causing accidents,’’ said a senior traffic official, adding that a change in road engineering or a flyover is the only solution.
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RAJGHAT CROSSING NO. OF PERSONS KILLED 10
Wide roads and speeding traffic — this is a deadly combo for any intersection, and Rajghat is no exception. This stretch, also located on Ring Road, boasts of very wide roads and is frequented by trucks and trailers which are behind most accidents here. The victims are mainly pedestrians and cyclists, who cross the road at Rajghat, on way to their homes in trans-Yamuna areas or workplaces in the Walled City. A traffic solution, in the form of a grade separator, has been mooted for this crossing and the plan also has provision for a lane dedicated to rickshaws, cycles and other slow-moving traffic coming from Geeta Colony side. A pedestrian subway has also been proposed. The traffic police expect the situation to improve once the grade separator comes up, and till then, plan to intensify speed checks and educate pedestrians.
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ISBT KASHMERE GATE NO. OF PERSONS KILLED 17
At present, this is the most unsafe crossing in the city. As per traffic police statistics, the ISBT Kashmere Gate intersection on Ring Road continues to be a death trap for the third year in a row. In 2006, as many as 17 persons were killed in road accidents here, which is the maximum number of persons killed in accidents at a single crossing. According to officials, one of the main reasons behind this high accident rate is the heavy influx of pedestrians from the interstate bus terminus. They cross the main road to catch connecting buses, and often get hit by speeding vehicles. The terminus is alive round the clock as interstate buses keep arriving and departing at all odd hours. And the majority of accidents at this crossing are reported at night when pedestrians, attempting to cross the busy main road at surface level, are knocked down by fast-moving traffic on Ring Road. The death toll, however, is expected to come down a little this year as a foot overbridge is finally being constructed at the crossing after a delay of over two years. The foot overbridge will connect the two sides of Ring Road and be equipped with escalators and ramps for easy access. Another peculiar problem of the crossing is that rickshaw-pullers and homeless labourers working in the Walled City area sleep here on the pavements. This practice is more prevalent in summer months as sleeping on the road helps beat the heat. In several cases of accident reported from ISBT, sleeping persons have been hit by vehicles, which climb on to the divider or pavement after the driver loses control. Speeding cars and movement of heavy goods vehicles along Ring Road make this crossing further accident-prone.
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BHALSWA CHOWK NO. OF PERSONS KILLED 9
Located about a kilometre away from Mukundpur Chowk on National Highway-1, the traffic problems of Bhalswa crossing are very similar to the other black spot. The proximity of unauthorised colonies to main roads, lack of awareness about traffic rules among road users in the neighbouring colonies, speeding traffic on the main road and a large population of pedestrians crossing the main road are some of the main causes of accidents. Like Mukundpur, here too, street lighting is inadequate, making the stretch particularly treacherous for pedestrians after dark. According to the traffic police, the contractor who had undertaken repair work on NH-1 for National Highways Authority of India has left the work midway, causing more chaos.
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PEERAGARHI CROSSING NO. OF PERSONS KILLED 9
This crossing at Peeragarhi is located in the heart of west Delhi and the traffic volume is quite heavy. The conflicting nature of vehicles frequenting the intersection lies at the root of most of its troubles. Shoppers coming out of a busy market located in the vicinity, unauthorised parking lots chock-ablock with scooters and cars along the main road, honking cycle rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, speeding cars, theelers, buses and trucks — the intersection has a good mix of all kinds of slow-moving and fast-moving traffic. The main challenge for the traffic police here is to segregate the different types of traffic and check overspeeding. An alteration in the road design at the intersection, or other alterations in road engineering, have been suggested to make the crossing less prone to collisions.
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AKSHARDHAM CROSSING NO. OF PERSONS KILLED 9
After hitting the headlines for an ‘‘unsafe’’ loop leading up to the flyover, Akshardham crossing has now made it to the list of black spots. Last year, the traffic police had closed all right turns here to ease congestion on Laxmi Nagar Chungi, where a flyover with four clover leaves was going to come up. But the result of the diversion was that two- and three-wheelers began taking a U-turn from the central verge on Nizamuddin bridge as a short-cut, leading to frequent accidents. The rush of visitors to the nearby Akshardham temple also makes the area accident-prone. There’s no fence on the central verge, and they cross the road at will, often coming in the way of speeding vehicles. Four loops to the flyover have been suggested as a long-term solution.
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WAZIRPUR DEPOT NO. OF PERSONS KILLED 8
A bus depot and a mix of various types of traffic, mainly slow-moving and fast-moving, make this crossing highly unsafe for pedestrians. A district centre was recently constructed near the main intersection, and this has made the area more accident-prone, as it attracts more vehicles. According to the traffic police, the crossing at Wazirpur Depot can be made a lot safer by introducing some changes in the road engineering and also by physically segregating slow and fast moving traffic along all its arms. Traffic offences like speeding above the permissible limit and driving under the influence of alcohol also need to be checked here. The Delhi Traffic police has now decided to close a few access roads here and is also redoing the signal cycles and intersection design in a bid to bring down the number of accidents.
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MUKUNDPUR CHOWK NO. OF PERSONS KILLED 8
Despite serious efforts, the traffic police has not been able to keep this crossing, located on Outer Ring Road, out of their list of black spots for the second year. The main factor leading to accidents here is a conflict between fast-moving traffic from Outer Ring Road and slow-moving traffic, like cycles and rickshaws, coming from the nearby unauthorised colonies. According to officials, the residents of such colonies have little idea about traffic rules and comprise a majority of the fatalities at Mukundpur. Moreover, inadequate street lighting on the main road makes it difficult to spot pedestrians after dark. The intersection is also frequented by trucks, trailers and interstate buses, as it forms part of NH-1, leading to the northern states of Punjab and Himachal.
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Accidents Stats For Year 2006
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Total No. of Accidents 8,838
Non-injury 341
Injury 6,617
Fatal 1,880
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Accidents Stats For Year 2005
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No. of Accidents 9,009
Non-injury 461
Injury 6,677
Fatal 1,871
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Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com (Delhi Edition)
Date Of Publish: 15-Jan-07
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15-01-07, 10:05 AM
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