A total of 14 accidents occurred on this route between January and April last year. Of these, 9 have lost their lives in accidents. Due to the number of accidents and regular traffic jams, the Pune-Mumbai journey has become a hassle for many. The road survey was conducted by the Resilient India organization appointed by the Department of Transport from April to May to find out the cause of the accident.
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For this, the organization interacted with the drivers. Vehicles and drivers were monitored through drones. Radar was also used for this. Turns and steep slopes were also examined. The two-month survey was recently reported to the highway police.
What are the causes of accidents?
• Heavy traffic, overloaded traffic, illegal parking of roadside vehicles
• Vehicles that get stuck on the road, unskilled drivers driving in the ghats, driving faster than the prescribed speed.
What the survey found
• The IRB has stopped patrolling the Route Patrolling Vehicle (RPV) for the last few days. As a result, there is no information about parking on the road and vehicles parked in the ghats.
• The speed of vehicles in the ghat area is 20 to 30 percent faster than usual. This can lead to loss of control of the vehicle, brake failure, etc.
• About 20 to 22 thousand heavy vehicles run on this highway every day.
• The system for checking overloaded vehicles is not operational at this location.
• Drivers coming from behind are not alerted after the vehicle has stopped.
Rajiv Choubey, President, Resilient India, Nashik informed”We found various elements in the highway survey. Various shortcomings have been found in it and some of the important ones have been neglected by the highway administration. We have sent the report to the IRB and the highway police, which also suggest measures.”
“The report of the organization appointed by the Department of Transportation has been received. It has pointed out shortcomings and their solutions. Work is underway on it. Efforts are being made to avoid traffic jams and accidents,” said K. K. Sarangal, Additional Director General, Highway Police, Mumbai
“There is no fault in the expressway. Vehicle owners violate speed limits which is why accidents are happening. Work on ‘Missing Link’ is underway. Once it is completed, many questions will be resolved,” a senior Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) official said.