adil

7th death in 6 days on Dwarka-Palam flyover

NEW DELHI: Like a fierce demon demanding a life be sacrificed for it every day, the killer Dwarka-Palam flyover has claimed its seventh victim in six days. On Monday, a 25-year-old photographer, Srikant, hit the evil bend on the flyover — exactly the same spot where all the accidents have taken place since Holi — and succumbed to his injuries. His friend Mohit was also critically injured.

These accidents have happened at a spot on the side of he flyover coming from Dwarka where there is a steep `S' bend which drivers find difficult to manoeuvre, especially after a long straight stretch where vehicles tend to gain speed. The bend comes without a warning — and it's still the case— and the rails are low over which vehicles have toppled over.

Although traffic police and experts admit that the faulty planning is the real killer at the flyover, both DDA and traffic police in their official reactions have been trying to put the blame on the victims saying they were speeding, and seeking to divert attention from the killer trap by lowering speed limits. The stretch has a ludicrous speed limit of 25 km per hour.

According to reports, Srikant, a resident of Rajapuri area near Dwarka, worked in a photo studio called RPS Photo in Bharat Vihar area in south west Delhi. Mohit, who is still fighting for his life, lived in Bindapur.

"On Monday morning, they were coming from Delhi Cantonment side towards Dwarka. The bike was travelling at high speed and on one of the sharp curves, Srikant failed to notice the divider. The bike hit the divider and rammed into the 3-foot high railing of the flyover and both of them fell over, onto the concrete floor almost 25-30 feet below. They were rushed to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital in Hari Nagar. Srikant was dead by then while Mohit is in critical condition," said a senior police officer. He added that Mohit is still unfit for statement.

No traces of alcohol were found on either of them and both Srikant and Mohit were reportedly wearing helmets.

Srikant's family and friends were distraught after hearing the news. "We were waiting from him throughout the night as he never stayed out overnight without informing us. We were so tense that we thought of filing a missing complaint if he didn't return by morning. Around 6.30am, cops came to our house with his belongings and told us what had happened. It's unbelievable," said Ved Bhushan, Srikant's father. Amar, the victim's employer said that Srikant was a very level-headed person. "He was very safe and from what we all know, he never drove recklessly," he said.

Two days ago, a Manipuri youth Chin Lein Sanj died when he fell from the flyover in south-west Delhi after his motorcycle hit the railing. Four members of a family were killed on March 11, when they fell from the same flyover after their bike hit the railing on the same stretch. On the same day, Jagmohan was killed when his motorcycle skidded on the way to the airport. On March 8, Bala Krishnan died, while his friend, Mala Palli sustained critical injuries after their motorcycle crashed into a road divider.

DDA's director press information and publicity Nemo Dhar said; "The permissible speed limit is 25 kmph. To prevent overspeeding, immediate action is being taken. DDA is putting rumble strips and signages here to prevent overspeeding," Dhar said.

Defending the design of the flyover, Dhar said that a feasibility study was conducted at the time of construction and all was well with the execution of the design.


17 Mar 2009, Medha Chaturvedi & Ambika Pandit, TNN

dhillon

Why should the city crawl?

NEW DELHI: The spate of accidents on the Dwarka flyover had the cops and officials once again raising the bogey of speed. Many experts too tend to go along with the view that the speed limit should be kept low to prevent accidents. It's a bit like saying that if you keep your cars at home, there won't be any traffic jams. Or, if the pedestrians don't cross the road, they won't get run over. This approach absolves those running the city from looking for solutions.

With the latest cars, better roads and improved signalling systems, movement should be faster in the city. In fact, there is a clear case for raising the speed limit from the prevailing 50kmph to 80kmph and even more (much higher on highways and expressways), perhaps on a differential basis. An irrational insistence on a lower limit has only led to open defiance by drivers who slow down only when they spot speed guns. It would be far better to recognize the need for travelling faster and enforce a higher speed limit, lane driving and good road behaviour.

In fact, it's rather strange that you build a flyover for faster connectivity and then make the road user the culprit. Bad engineering and a feasibility study that ought to be questioned should be the focus.

"We have modern cars, most of which can't be driven slowly. These cars also come with anti-lock braking systems and other modern technologies that prevent accidents. So rather than imposing speed limits, the authorities should look at disciplining traffic and enforcing lane driving,'' said businessman Suresh Sanghi.

Added Himesh Kaul, an engineer: "The quality of roads has improved and we have facilities like foot overbridges with escalators and proper pedestrian paths. In such a scenario, fixing a speed limit of 50kmph only forces people to break the law and increases corruption.''

A Central Road Research Institute scientist, who wished to remain anonymous, pointed out that people drive at will and a speed of 80kmph is common on most roads during the off-peak hours. "Not sticking to lanes, drunken driving and jumping signals are equally hazardous. What is important is to educate people,'' said the scientist.

Delhiites cite the recent bans imposed by the government on smoking in public and using plastic which are being largely complied with. "This is because there is a logic behind them. But our speed limit is completely irrational. If you were to take any stretch, more than half the cars on it would be over the speed limit,'' said personal trainer Aneesh Khurana.

In fact, the traffic police has been flooded with requests to increase speed limits. Delhi Traffic Police chief SN Shrivastava acknowledges that "roads are improving and the cars are modern. But there is poor road sense. We have increased the speed limit on some parts of Ring Road to 60kmph and on DND and Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway to 80kmph. But for city roads, 50kmph is just right in our mixed traffic conditions and poor discipline.''

Traffic experts are rather conservative. "The character of our roads is such that we have different kinds of road users like pedestrians, slow moving traffic and modern cars in the same space. If the speed limit is increased, accidents are bound to go up,'' feels Dr SM Sarin, road safety expert and former Director of CRRI. Auto expert Tutu Dhawan adds: "It's true that the cars are better and safer but we are a completely indisciplined and uncouth lot on the roads. Till we learn more courtesy and get trained to drive at proper schools, I feel the speed limits need to be low.''

But there are those who are more in sync with the popular view. They call for enforcement and better traffic management. People tend to overspeed on empty stretches as there are bottlenecks on most roads due to poor management of traffic. "If the overall average speed is increased, the travel time will automatically get reduced,'' said TK Malhotra, President of Auto Association of Upper India.

Enforcing variable speed limits higher speeds on arterial roads where lane driving is enforced and proper facilities provided for other categories of road users like pedestrian tracks besides segregated lanes for slow moving traffic is the way out.

18 Mar 2009, TNN

singh001

'Safety' measures stall traffic on Dwarka flyover

NEW DELHI: The Dwarka flyover is now witnessing prolonged jams at peak hours because of the series of speed breakers installed on it, defeating the very purpose of constructing the flyover. Regular commuters say that crossing the flyover to reach Dwarka during the evening rush hour can even take about 30 minutes because of the jams.

The cause of the congestion are the speed breakers the spot where multiple speed breakers have been installed, one after another, is proving to be the main bottleneck. "DDA (Delhi Development Authority) has put up these pre-fabricated type of speed breakers, on which one can't take the car till its at speed zero. They virtually force you to stop. The jams here have become so terrible that it would have taken the same time to travel the distance had the flyover not been there at all,'' said Sanchit Sarkar, a resident of Dwarka sector 8.

Motorists feel that travel time on the flyover has gone up and perhaps installation of modern speed control devices, like cameras, would be a better solution. "The traffic is slowing down during the peak hours, when the accidents are anyhow not taking place. I still see bikers speeding down the flyover late at night and feel that a better solution needs to be worked out. Maybe, at the accident prone spots, some cameras should be fitted to ensure that speeds are controlled,'' added Ramesh Ahuja, a resident of Dwarka sector 1.

TOI had earlier pointed out that knee-jerk reactions like installation of speed breakers, without carrying out scientific investigation into the causes of the accidents, is not a solution. Experts had expressed the view that flyovers were meant to provide a free passage to vehicles and not restrict movement further. "There can't be a reduction of speed limit on a flyover, because it defeats the entire idea of providing a free passage. Flyovers are constructed to be freeways,'' TK Malhotra, member UTTIPEC and President of Auto Association of Upper India, had said.

The need of the hour is strict enforcement of existing speed limits and installation of proper road user information systems like signages and warning signs. Another solution is the introduction of variable speeds on the flyover, which is possible as it is four-km long.

Seven people lost their lives after falling to death from the flyover since Holi this month, raising a serious question mark on its construction design. Even as DDA, which constructed it, claimed that all safety standards have been adhered to, traffic police feel that the long length and narrow width of the flyover, coupled with the sharp curves in the design, make it unsafe. The cops had even written to DDA to install safety features in the design about eight months ago, but no action was taken.

24 Mar 2009