BENGALURU: The most dangerous areas for motorists in Bengaluru in 2018 are KR Puram and Yelahanka, as most accidents have been recorded in the jurisdiction of these traffic police stations.According to the city traffic police statistics, till November 30, 250 accidents and 39 deaths were recorded in KR Puram while 201 accidents and 45 deaths were reported in Yelahanka. In 2017, KR Puram was leading on both counts with 304 accidents and 51 deaths.
Traffic police stations which cover highways and ring roads such as Chikkajala, Devanahalli, Airport, Hebbal and Hulimavu, have recorded a relatively higher percentage of fatal accidents.According to a traffic police official from the Devanahalli station, several accidents have occurred on Ballari Road, which runs through the jurisdiction of three stations — Yelahanka, Hebbal and Devanahalli. The official said BTP wrote to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) last week regarding measures that can be taken to reduce the number of accidents on the road.
“These include installation of reflectors, increasing the height of the median to prevent pedestrians from crossing it, construction of skywalk near Kote Cross and construction of an underpass near Sannamangala Palya,” the official said.
A traffic police official from KR Puram station said the most accident-prone spots within the limits are a stretch of Old Madras Road near Battarahalli junction, a curve on the ORR near ASR Convention Hall in Ramamurthy Nagar and a stretch near Lowry Memorial High School on the ORR in Mahadevapura.At all these locations, as pedestrians crossing the road were blamed for several accidents, one of the proposed solutions was to increase the height of the medians.
“Near Bhattarahalli junction, the NHAI has told us that we cannot build speed breakers. We put up rumblers near the RTO office but NHAI officials said there is no provision for that either. So, we have written to them to seek permission for more rumblers to be built,” the official said.The official said as the jurisdiction of other stations were mostly within the city, the average speeds of vehicles are lower.
“As soon as vehicles pass the Bhattarahalli traffic signal, they speed up, which leads to accidents. Most accidents involve pedestrians and vehicles, and collision between two-wheelers and larger vehicles,” he added.
Overall, after interpolation of the statistics until December 31, the total number of accidents within the city limits — 4,551 — shows a 10.13% reduction compared to 5,064 accidents in 2017. But the number of fatalities is projected to show a marginal increase of 3.74% from 642 to 666.
