HYDERABAD: Increase of vehicle speed over the years and lack of awareness among commuters have transformed Khairatabad (Central Zone) into the most-accident prone area in the city, a study has found.
The study “GIS-based Spatial Analysis of Urban Traffic Accidents by professors of the OU-affiliated Deccan College of Engineering found that, when compared to Charminar, LB Nagar, Serilingampally, Kukatpally and Secunderabad, Khairatabad recorded the most number of accident cases.
It studied the stretches from Miyapur to Kukatpally, Dilsuknagar to Chaderghat, RTC X-road to Secunderabad, Afzalgunj to Puranapul, which are affected due to traffic congestion using the Geographical Information System (GIS) in the Hyderabad. Heavy vehicles were found to be a major cause of accidents coupled with flaw in road design. “Inadequate shoulder width forces heavy vehicles to come onto the carriage area thereby conflicting with traffic.” A shoulder or hard shoulder is an emergency stopping lane by the verge of a road.
In June alone, according to data from Hyderabad Traffic Police, there were 750 cases of accidents recorded by heavy vehicles. Two-wheelers took the second spot with 457 cases.Within heavy vehicles, buses rank highest when it comes to involvement in accidents. The study also recommended more studies to be undertaken to investigate why buses meet with more accidents than other vehicles.
The study also analysed the different types of accidents and found that sideswipe and rear-end accidents were the most common. Sideswipe happens when two vehicles drive next one another in the same direction and a rear-end collision, as the name suggests, happens when a vehicle crashes into the vehicle in front of it. Though there have been a number of accidents within the city limits, most of them have been not fatal. The study found that, “More number of non fatal accidents occurred in the city because of reduction in the journey speed.”