HYDERABAD: A month after an accident on Biodiversity Flyover left one dead and injured many, it was reopened on Saturday.
When TOI drove over the flyover, several features stood out: An excessive number of signages, rumble strips and speed-breakers just ahead of the sharp curve where the accident had happened.
The abrupt ride caused several vehicles to stop, and restart engines at the scene of the widely reported accident. Infrastructural expert Dr SP Anchuri who is the vice president of Structural Engineers World Congress — India, who joined TOI’s commute said the new additions were likely to have a ripple effect on traffic jams along Gachbowli-Miyapur main road and other connecting roads during peak hours.
“Putting speed breakers on flyovers, especially in the ascend is avoided as a rule. Since the structural defect cannot be rectified now, the changes can only serve as a precautionary measure.
The general tendency of motorists is to speed up after crossing speed breakers. Hence, the placement of the speed bumps is not accurate. Another problem is that two-wheelers need a minimum speed to balance but coming down to a near stop at the bumps would itself cause many accidents, making pillion riders vulnerable to falls,” said Anchuri.
As per the expert, no physical changes have been made and the changes made are more of a distraction (like signage and announcement of speed limit etc) and will serve only as precautionary measure.
While a few motorists did halt on the flyover, within minutes an announcement was made the vehicles should not halt and any such vehicle will be fined. Also speed limit was being constantly announced and motorists were cautioned against over-speeding. “However, this didn’t seem to act as a deterrent to many. Ideally the motorists over-speeding should be apprehended just after to flyover’s descent so that an immediate check can be put in place,” added Anchuri. This flaw was also pointed out by motorists themselves. Umaid Khan, a motorist said that the spot where the accident happened is 15- 20 feet away where the speed-breakers should have been put.
Meanwhile, the second turning of the S shaped flyover remains hidden by buildings. This is a threat to speeding vehicles.
While a majority of motorists kept away from the left side of the flyover and tried driving in the middle, there were a few driving rashly too.
“Even though care has been taken by the committee to suggest points when we had one drive, found that it’s not at all made any impact on the rash drivers. It will be very difficult to avoid accidents.
There is need to go for a few more rectifications to ensure accident free commuting. Detailed studies should be conducted from time to time over during peak hours. Also there is a need for bringing about a change in the mindset of commuters,” added the expert.
Source: Times Of India
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