manoj

Nelson Mandela Road, running along hotel The Grand in Vasant Kunj, may top the list of the most pleasurable roads to drive on in the city. But the faulty road design and violations such as overspeeding and wrong-side driving have made it a dangerous stretch.

This year, two major accidents were reported on the road, in which two persons lost their lives and five others received injuries. Recently a speeding Honda City car went over the divider to hit a Hyundai Sonata coming in the opposite direction. The 22-year-old youth driving the Honda City died on the spot while two of his friends as well as the couple seated in the other car were injured.

In another accident reported on the road earlier this year, a cyclist was hit by a 16-year-old student of G D Goenka School as he lost control over his Honda Accord car. The minor was reportedly racing with a friend when the accident took place.

According to the traffic police, the main problem on the road is that of overspeeding, which becomes tough to check at night when the speed radars can be ineffective. ‘‘Nelson Mandela Road is a long eight-lane stretch where motorists are tempted to speed. During the day, speed interceptors are regularly positioned at different spots on the road — it is a permanent point for enforcement. People are advised to drive slowly for their own safety as overspeeding is the main reason why the road is dangerous,’’ said Qamar Ahmed, JCP (traffic). Traffic experts, however, blame the road engineering. ‘‘The intersection of Nelson Mandela Road with turns to Vasant Vihar (Priya cinema) and Jawaharlal Nehru University is termed as an example of bad road engineering as the crossing is very confusing. The roads are at vague angles which are tough to decipher when one is driving. Further, as one moves away from Vasant Kunj, the eight-lane road suddenly narrows down to just four lanes, causing congestion,’’ says Rohit Baluja, president, Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE).

Residents of Vasant Kunj also face trouble at the C-9 crossing. Vehicles coming from the petrol pumps or from The Grand prefer to take wrong side in the service road instead of going till the other end to take a U-turn. The problem arises when they reach the C-9 crossing and wait for the traffic signal to turn green in the wrong lane. Unauthorised parking in the service road causes further chaos. Besides, two-wheeler drivers have created a short-cut on the central verge near the petrol pumps to take U-turns, which proves to be very dangerous as traffic on the road moves at a speed.

Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com (Delhi Edition)
Date Of Publish: 29-Dec-06

__________________
Nothing is fool-proof to a talented fool.