Accidents up…
Cases enter Police records only when there are fatalities or serious injuries
Mysuru: Is Mysuru slowly acquiring an unwanted tag of ‘City of Accidents’? Accidents have become a daily occurrence on the city roads, but only a small number of them enter into Police records.
Many cases are settled between the parties involved without a complaint being filed. The Outer Ring Road (ORR) is a particular concern, with residents saying they are increasingly wary of driving on the stretch because of the frequent accidents.
On Friday afternoon, a speeding goods vehicle toppled onto a car waiting at the signal at Netaji Circle in Dattagalli at around 2 pm. The vehicle fell on the rear of the car, averting a major accident.
Brake failure is said to have caused the accident. Bags of paddy and maize spilt onto the road.
The incident came under the Kuvempunagar Traffic Police limits, but no complaint was filed as the drivers reportedly settled the matter among themselves.
The next morning, a speeding car crashed into an electric pole at Belavatta Junction on the Ring Road. The car was badly damaged in the impact. Overspeeding was cited as the cause.
Such accidents often go unrecorded unless someone is killed or suffers serious injuries. As a result, the Police figures do not present the full picture of accidents taking place on the city roads.
Signal bottleneck
Residents say little has been done to check the growing number of accidents.
Several traffic signals installed across the city to regulate traffic have, in some places, become bottlenecks.
At some junctions, signals are located close to one another. Motorists, seeing a green signal ahead, tend to speed up, only to find the next signal turning red, forcing them to hit the brake suddenly. Residents say this has led to accidents at some locations.
At some other important junctions, the signals remain switched off, resulting in frequent minor accidents, they allege.
Citizens have also questioned whether Traffic Police personnel are being adequately trained and updated on road-safety rules.
Frequent transfers of personnel between Civil and Traffic Police Stations, they say, also affect enforcement.
Residents want an ‘Accident Zone’ warning board put up on the Ring Road.
Overspeeding is common, but interceptor vehicles are not being deployed to check speeds and penalise violators.
They say, even such basic steps have not been taken, despite many accidents on the stretch.
