Sir,

Medians on the road help to control traffic movement and avoid head-on collision of vehicles, if drivers of vehicles moving in opposite direction are not following lane discipline. Thus it helps in reducing the road accident related injuries, deaths and loss of property.

However, it became a major hindrance to many vehicle users and pedestrians. Riding on the wrong side of the road, whether there is a median or not in the road, is being noticed in major cities across the country, including Mysuru. Mainly two-wheeler riders are blatantly violating the road safety rule and riding in opposite direction or riding on the wrong side of the road dividers especially at signals and inviting accidents (see photo).

Pedestrians are jumping over the medians instead of approaching the zebra cross near the Circles. No road in the city and its extension areas is an exception to such type of violation. Many are violating this road safety rule and inviting accidents by driving in wrong side of the road, instead of going in right direction and taking U-turn ahead.

Recently in Vijayawada, four people died in a road accident when a milk van hit an auto when it was speeding in wrong side of the road. Some other vehicle users who do not want to take U-turn are damaging the median (see photo) and sneaking through the gap created and taking risk for themselves and posing threat to other road users. The photo taken on Outer Ring Road in Mysuru city between Bogadi and Hinkal is one such example.

In the absence of raised platform on the service road, public damaged the median on the Ring Road and crossing the median here to enter the small bylane in Vijayanagar fourth stage straight away (providing heavy concrete medians over the drain or raising the height of the drain here is the solution). Such people are not bothering about road safety. It looks that they want to save petrol and time by avoiding going up to the U-turn ahead and taking right turn to enter the service road and come back to the same road.

In addition to this, in the eventuality of an accident that results in death of public, they expect government to pay compensation. Unfortunately, those who are raising their voice against increased penalties are not raising voice against such violators of road safety rules, who are a major threat to other road users!

– Dr. S. V. N. Vijayendra, Traffic Warden, Roopanagar, 2.11.2019

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