NOIDA: A road safety audit by IIT-Delhi has recommended several measures for better speed compliance along the Yamuna Expressway, apart from identifying deficiencies in signage marking and roadside barriers on the 165-km corridor connecting Greater Noida and Agra.
The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) received the final draft of the audit this week.
Incidentally, on Thursday, a mini-van crashed into the central verge of the e-way and flipped over. Three students are in serious condition, while two are on life support.
The study identified and studied crash locations based on the past three years’ traffic crash data, and provided suggestions to reduce accident risks at those spots.
The audit was launched in August last year, almost a year after a Supreme Court-appointed panel on road safety recommended one in the wake of an increasing number of mishaps on the expressway.
“A meeting is now scheduled on Friday, May 17, between YEIDA, the concessionaire, Jaypee Associates, and the experts for charting out the next course. The recommended action plan for road safety along the expressway after the meeting will be approved by our upcoming Board meeting on May 30 before implementation,” said Arun Vir Singh, Chief Executive Officer, YEIDA. “The final draft report, which we have received this week from IIT-Delhi, has listed eleven main points, including putting into place a dedicated police enforcement team, and other measures for controlling the speed of vehicles.”
The report recommended increasing the number of speed guns and cameras installed along the expressway. Currently, there are 24 cameras, with 12 located along each carriageway, and four-speed guns.
Other measures to check accidents include fining vehicle owners who change lanes, drink and drive, drive without tail lights, speed along entry/exit ramps, drive on the wrong side, etc. The report suggested that the height of guard rails be raised and the median be replaced by a flushed median as per Indian Road Congress standards and norms.
This is the second time that a road safety audit was conducted. On December 24, 2014, YEIDA had hired the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) to conduct a safety audit of the expressway after frequent accidents resulting in casualties were reported. Even though the report said that the Yamuna Expressway was likely to be a death trap for motorists who speed, the CRRI recommendations hardly made any difference to enforcement.
However, according to the concessionaire, with the introduction of safety measures, in 2017, there were fewer accidents as compared to 2016. In 2016, 1,219 accidents claimed 133 lives. In 2018, there were 659 crashes and 111 fatalities. This year, up to February, the expressway has recorded 79 accidents and 38 causalities.