City, District Police take steps to mitigate accidents; NHAI to rectify anomalies 

Mysore/Mysuru: Taking into consideration the alarming rate of accidents at Black Spots (Accident Spots) within the limits of Mysuru District and City, the Police are brainstorming on the measures to eliminate accidents.

In all, the Police have identified 41 Black Spots — 12 within the city limits and the remaining 29 in the District limits.

Yesterday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) S. Jahnavi conducted a spot inspection of some of the Black Spots along with the officials from Public Works Department (PWD) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Mysuru Superintendent of Police (SP) Seema Latkar too held a meeting of Mysuru District Road Safety Committee with the Police, Education Department Officers and KSRTC on measures to be taken to mitigate the loss of lives and limbs. 

In road safety management, a Black Spot is a place where road traffic accidents have historically been concentrated. It may have occurred for a variety of reasons, such as a sharp drop or corner in a straight road, so oncoming traffic is concealed, a hidden junction on a fast road, and poor or concealed warning signs at crossroads.

In any given 500-metre stretch if there are more than 10 accidents in three years that have resulted in the loss of lives, such places are called Black Spots. During her inspection, DCP Jahnavi visited the black spot near Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Ashram along with Siddhartha Traffic Inspector Yogesh and Krishnaraja Traffic Sub-Inspector Jayaprakash, PWD Executive Engineer Raju and two representatives from the NHAI.

The team also visited Aladamara Junction and Sardar Vallabhbhai Nagar on Mysuru-T. Narasipur Road, APMC Yard Junction where there is usually heavy traffic and VVIP movement from Mysore Airport to the city. As per protocol, permanent road humps cannot be laid on this highway which will result in hampering of VVIP movement. Instead, officials and the Police resolved to lay rumbling humps to control speed.

The NHAI officers informed DCP Jahnavi that tenders have been called to mitigate accidents on the Black Spots that come under the jurisdiction of NHAI like the Nanjangud Road and Bandipalya. Works on the tenders include widening the accident spots, laying of rumbling blocks, putting up danger signages and other measures. Officials said that the works will be completed by March.

PWD Executive Engineer Raju told the DCP that his Department will also take measures to rectify the accident-prone zones on the roads that come under its jurisdiction like Bogadi Road and H.D. Kote Road.

Road Safety Committee meeting

At the Road Safety Committee meeting, SP Seema Latkar told the NHAI officials and officers from the Regional Transport Department to take corrective measures to prevent accidents at those locations by preparing a road safety system.

Asking KSRTC officers to direct bus drivers to move at a slow pace, the SP said that drivers must follow the rules as reckless driving by KSRTC staff is a major contributor to accidents. She told the officers to take action against erring drivers.

Student movement on roads

The SP asked DDPI Ramachandra Raje Urs and DDPU Nagamallesh to direct schools and colleges to stagger the movement of students. Noting that once the school closes, all the children land on the roads and cross them simultaneously, creating a chaotic situation.

“It is difficult to control the children and the traffic at the same time and the chaos leads to accidents. Instead, students must be asked to exit the school in batches or class-wise,”                                         SP Seema said.

She gave directions to the officers of the Regional Transport Office for keeping a data on the accidents, irrespective of the nature of the accidents, for developing a safety system on the roads and for the road users.