Flyovers raise risk of accident deaths by 15 per cent, says study
Vehicles come down flyovers at top speed and clear traffic bottlenecks but at a price—an increased risk of death to vulnerable road users, cyclists and pedestrians.
Published: 09th December 2017 10:40 PM | Last Updated: 10th December 2017 08:18 AM | A+A A-
Image used for representational purpose. (Photo |EPS)
NEW DELHI: Vehicles come down flyovers at top speed and clear traffic bottlenecks but at a price—an increased risk of death to vulnerable road users, cyclists and pedestrians. A spatial analysis carried out by researchers from Cambridge University, Transportation and Injury Prevention Programme of IIT Delhi and Shiv Nadar University, Uttar Pradesh, has found that flyovers raise the fatality chances of pedestrians, cyclists and road users—known as the vulnerable group of commuters—by about 15 per cent.
The findings have been published in a recent issue of the international science journal, Accident Analysis and Prevention. It is based on a detailed breakdown of 5,972 deaths on Delhi roads in 2010-11.
The researchers have found the fatality risk of road users is inversely proportional to socio-economic status (literacy rate), population density and number of roundabouts, and directly proportional to percentage of population as workers, number of bus stops and flyovers or grade separators, and kilometres travelled by a vehicle.
“The negative effect of roundabouts, though statistically insignificant, is in accordance with their speed calming effects for which they have been used to replace signalised junctions in various parts of the world,” the study points out. It adds that fatality risk is 80 per cent higher at the density of 50 persons per hectare (pph) than at overall city-wide density of 250 pph.
During the analysis, the researchers studied every road accident-related death reported in Delhi, including date, time, location, striking vehicle type and the number of kilometres the vehicle travelled before the fatal accident.
“Given the high risk posed by the flyovers, their use as congestion mitigation measures within urban areas should be discontinued,” the researchers said.
Vulnerable road users of Delhi
Pedestrians, cyclists, users of two-wheelers account for over 85% of road fatality victims
Roads with flyovers have 40-50% higher speed
Roundabouts are safer compared to traffic junctions like cloverleaf flyovers near AIIMS & Dhaula Kuan
Fatality risk is 80% higher in areas with low population density
