BENGALURU: On an average, the city sees one pedestrian death every day. Walkers have to contend with high traffic density — with roads handling nearly three times their capacity — and many find the 10 to 20 seconds given to cross wide roads insufficient.
Further, several major roads — like Brigade and Residency roads — do not have zebra crossings. Many markings have disappeared as roads have been re-asphalted.
At the Brigade Road and Residency Road junctions, the zebra crossings are not marked. Where they are present, pedestrians can’t see them as vehicles stop on them at signals. Harried pedestrians find it nearly impossible to cross junctions that connect several major roads, like at the Double Road junction under the flyover, and the Dairy Circle junction.
Sanjna Gupta, resident of Richmond Road, said, “There are too many crossroads under the flyover, and no one follows the rules. Vehicles whiz past you in all directions and there are no traffic policemen around. Besides, the pathway below the flyover is filled with garbage, making it impossible to walk there. If you need to cross the road to get to the other side, you will have to wait at at least three signals.”
The situation at Dairy Circle is not much different. Sonal Shenoy, student at Christ University, said “Crossing from the Dairy Circle bus stop to the other side is a nightmare during peak hours. Even at the junction, since the road is a fork, upon crossing one road, the pedestrian is stranded in the middle of the adjacent roads.”
Girish S, Deputy Commissioner of Police-Traffic (West), said, “Generally, the timing for pedestrian crossing at signals varies from 10 to 20 seconds depending on the vehicular movement, although this is subject to change. We have also requested the public to send us their suggestions to reduce or increase the time. We are penalising motorists who enter the zebra crossing when there is pedestrian movement. Motorists should make way for physically disabled or elderly citizens who are crossing the road.”
In Hebbal, the commuters near Esteem Mall have to battle the dual problem of lack of paved footpaths and absence of a crossing. The situation worsens in the evening, when the traffic is choc-a-bloc. Despite major accidents having occurred in the area, little improvement has been made.
“This road is especially dangerous for children and elders. Although Esteem Mall has been closed for over a year to build the skywalk, nothing further has been done,” said Balaji, resident of Yelahanka-Doddaballapur. Unfortunately, the lack of a footpath extends beyond Hebbal to Allalasandra, making it difficult for residents in the interior areas, such as Sahakarnagar, to cross and walk to the bus stop.
Snapchat Victims
Social media app Snapchat has also contributed to the increase in road accidents. Enthusiastic drivers are eager to showcase their driving skills by clicking a quick selfie, but this ends hazardously more often than not. In fact, the app itself has come up with a filter in its latest upgrade that comes with the warning ‘Do not snap and drive’.
Solutions
1. Timing to cross roads should be dependent on factors such as the geometry of the road with regards to it’s width, age of pedestrians and time of the day. Further, the roads in India are not standardized so standardization of timings is not viable. Chandra Kishen, Professor from IISc, says ”The Esteem mall stretch should allow a minimum of 60-70 seconds for pedestrians to cross, especially since the area has schools and colleges.”
2. According to a study by Bureau of Police Reforms and Development (BPR&D). to estimates the city needs 8,700 traffic cops to manage the growing number of vehicles. We have nearly 3,000 now.
3. Marking for pedestrian crossing mostly used is the zebra pattern consisting of equally spaced white stripes generally 500 mm wide and they should be marked. A sign to indicate crossings ahead.
Road Safety Precautions in Other Countries
In Netherlands, road design measures such as construction of 30 km/h zones and raised, visible and uniform crossings; vehicle measures such as pedestrian-friendly car fronts
Parking vehicles within five metres of pedestrian crossings is banned to improve visibility (except two-wheelers). In Sweden, the speed limit is reduced to 30 kmph in busy areas. Roundabouts are used to reduce speed. France and Sweden have seen a drop in pedestrian fatalities by 70 pc since 1980
New York City targets to reduce annual road traffic fatalities by 50 per cent by 2030 aims to save 1,600 lives. The city is installing pedestrian countdown signals at 1,500 intersections; implementing 75 20 mph (32 km/h) school speed zones; developing a pilot programme for neighbourhood 20 mph (32 km/h) zones; enforcing speeding laws along major traffic corridors; using mass media campaigns. The measures have been credited with reducing pedestrian collisions and total crashes by 25-51 pc
On most Freiburg roads the speed limit is 30 km/h. Enforcing a single speed limit for an entire geographical area is likely to be more effective than varying speed limits based on which a driver may encounter three or four different speed limits on a single tripTraffic calming measures and rows of trees placed between roads and sidewalks have been used. So 24 per cent of trips every day are on foot, 28 per cent on bicycle, 20 per cent by public transport and 28 per cent by car.
In South Africa, to better protect pedestrians at particularly hazardous locations measures such as controls on BAC for drivers, speed cameras, pedestrian overpasses, and the “Crash Witness” public awareness campaign have been used, leading to a 29 per cent reduction in road traffic fatalities in three years.
Top reasons for pedestrian casualties
Being unmindful of one’s surroundings Jaywalking Listening to music/speaking over the phone while crossing Darting across moving vehicles Not walking on the footpath, despite there being one