Death traps on National Highways in Andhra Pradesh

Fourteen ladies labourers working at a shrimp manufacturing unit close to Coringa of Kakinada district, on May 14, routinely obtained into an autorickshaw with a six-people capability to succeed in their office. Little did they know that solely half of them would return house alive.

On the fateful day, seven of them have been killed because the overcrowded autorickshaw collided with a bus on NH-216. The remainder of the ladies suffered extreme accidents and have been doomed to dwell with the lack of their expensive co-workers.

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Before the information of this ghastly accident may sink into folks’s minds, one other piece of reports a couple of street accident that led to the demise of seven folks broke out 24 hours afterward May 15.

Sixteen folks from Tadipatri city started their journey in a multi-utility automobile with an 11-people capability. Seven of them died when their automobile collided with a lorry at P. Anantapuram village in Kondapuram Mandal of YSR Kadapa District.

Blackspot hazard

While overcrowding of the automobile appears to be the primary reason behind the accident, the auto driver who suffered the accident in Kakinada blamed the unsafe roads and the ‘blackspots’ on NH-216.

Blackspots are these particular spots on the roads the place quite a few accidents have been reported.

“Between 2019-21, a total of 75 people were killed in the 196 accidents recorded at the 16 blackspots on the 31-km NH-216”, says Aiswarya Rastogi, former SP (Urban), Rajamahendravaram.

The East Godavari police, taking these numbers into consideration, has urged the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to stop fatalities by offering excessive mast lighting on NH-216. 

Weighing in on the problem, Rajamahendravaram MP Margani Bharat says, “The construction of a fly-over is in progress at Morampudi junction, where 26 persons have been killed since 2019. The NHAI is also examining the proposals submitted to prevent the fatalities at the blackspots on the highway.” 

In Anantapur, too, the officers have recognized 39 blackspots on the National Highways passing by it. Tapovanam Junction on National Highway 44 in Anantapur metropolis can also be recognized as one of many blackspots.  

Positive leads to Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam district is not any exception to witnessing a major variety of accidents on the Highways’ blackspots. Reducing this quantity continues to be one of many main focus areas of the visitors police.

The visitors police in Visakhapatnam say that through the 12 months 2022, as many as 333 street accident deaths have been reported in Vizag. Of them, 129 deaths occurred on NH-16, whereas 113 deaths have been reported on the colony and inner roads within the metropolis. While BRTS roads noticed 40 deaths, the State Highway noticed 15 deaths.

According to official info, Visakhapatnam City has about 71 blackspots in Zone I (Tagarapuvalasa to NAD Junction) and Zone II (NAD Junction to Lankelapalem). During 2021, these accident hotspots have reported 113 deadly accidents and 237 non-fatal accidents within the metropolis.

The stretch between Lankelapalem to Gajuwaka through Aganampudi is taken into account to be some of the harmful stretches on the NH-16, passing by the town and contributing to essentially the most variety of accidents.

The police have initiated diverting heavy autos on National Highways to the State Highways through the day and afternoon to minimise visitors. But the very fact stays that many autos proceed to sneak into the town claiming industrial necessities.

However, maintaining in view the vital nature of the problem of blackspots, the Visakhapatnam visitors police have taken up stringent measures at these areas to cut back accidents.

By paying particular consideration to lowering the pace of the autos at these spots, in 2022, the variety of accidents on the blackspots was lowered to 79 deadly and 189 non-fatal accidents.

A extra essential achievement by the police, nonetheless, is that about 17 hotspots didn’t report any accidents in 2022.

Overcrowding can’t be missed

Anantapur Superintendent of Police Kanchi Srinivasa Rao drew consideration to the unmissable issue of overcrowding of passenger autos behind quite a few unintended deaths on the National Highwats.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao advised The Hindu that he had known as for an consciousness assembly for all three-seater and seven-seater autorickshaws autodrivers’ union leaders to press upon them to cease ferrying passengers past the permitted numbers and stop deaths.

“I have personally come across several autorickshaws at Gooty and Guntakal on National Highway and rural roads carrying the MNREGS labourers to work spots or other construction sites, presumably to reduce the per-person fare,” Mr. Srinivasa Rao provides.

“The autorickshaw drivers are up in arms against the police for restricting them, but we will not let them violate the rules and put the passengers in danger,” he says.

Other essential components

An evaluation of the iRAD database for Anantapur, an Integrated Road Accident Database to counterpoint the accident databases to enhance street security, revealed that, as towards the widespread notion, many of the accidents occurred between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., and late-night accidents have been far much less in quantity, mentioned Deputy Commissioner of Transport N. Sivaram Prasad. 

The knowledge for 9 months of 2022 reveals that out of the 418 accidents, 238 have been deadly, and 404 have been injured. Two-wheeler riders stay the most-affected group, the official added.

In all, 642 individuals have been affected – both useless or injured – within the Anantapur district between March 1 and December 20, 2022. The Sri Sathya Sai District police unit, simply 13 months previous, recorded 608 (347 deadly and 263 non-fatal) accidents, with 380 deaths and 754 accidents.

Kurnool District additionally recorded 625 accidents in 2021, with 368 deaths and 702 accidents; 634 accidents in 2022, with 358 deaths and 706 accidents; and 148 accidents in 5 months of 2023, leading to 74 fatalities and 147 accidents.

Of the most important accidents that occurred on NH-44 that passes by Anantapur district are the 2 recorded on November 5, 2021. Seven individuals died, and three others have been injured grievously in two completely different accidents 10 km aside at Pamidi and Midthur.

The demise of 4 individuals travelling from Bengaluru in direction of Hyderabad when the automotive by which they have been travelling hit a lorry from behind at a speed-breaker on National Highway 44, reverse KIA Motors Limited manufacturing unit close to Penukonda on March 2, 2021, additionally despatched shock waves among the many public.

The police additionally level out that folks driving on open items lorries have been additionally victims of many accidents prior to now. They add that they’ve intensified the monitoring of vehicular actions and automobile pace on National Highways as a measure to stop accidents.

Driving with out helmet

Many lives may have been saved if riders took minimal security measures like sporting a helmet or placing on the automotive seat belt, say police.

Of the 238 deadly accidents reported in Anantapur in 2020, 90 concerned two-wheelers and 80 didn’t put on a helmet on the time of the accident. In automotive accidents, 12 drivers didn’t have their seat belts mounted, says the iRAD knowledge.