Killer roads: Wrong overtaking to blame for mishaps on Haryana e-ways

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, February 26

As many as 125 persons lost their lives on the Western and Eastern Peripheral Expressways in 151 accidents in 2021. Wrong side overtaking is said to be the main reason behind most accidents on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) and Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal (KGP) Expressways.

125 killed in 151 accidents on kmp, kgp expressways in 2021

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• 151 mishaps on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal and Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal Expressways in 2021
• 125 persons were killed and 105 sustained injuries
• Wrong side overtaking said to be main cause of most accidents
• Overspeeding, abrupt lane-changing, improper lighting other reasons

Overspeeding, lane-changing by vehicles at a high speed, and improper lighting are the other culprits. Sources say many drivers, mostly the ones driving heavy vehicles, keep changing lanes, sometimes abruptly, causing fatal accidents. While the entire KMP stretches through the four districts of Haryana, Sonepat, Jhajjar, Gurugram and Mewat, the KGP falls in some parts of Sonepat, Faridabad and Palwal districts and its maximum stretch is in Uttar Pradesh.

As per the data, 151 accidents took place on the stretch of these expressways that fall in Haryana. Of these, 123 took place on the KMP in which 103 persons were killed and 83 sustained injuries. The remaining 28 took place on the KGP in which 22 persons lost their lives and 22 sustained injuries.

Rajshree Singh, IG, Traffic, said wrong side overtaking, overspeeding and speed miscalculation were identified as the main reasons. “To improve road safety some issues need to be addressed. These include shortage of lay-bys, improper lighting, improper access to expressways and lack of other facilities such as restrooms, fuel stations and restaurants. We have already written to the National Highways Authority of India and the HSIIDC in this regard,” the Inspector General of Police said.

Besides, she said, awareness campaigns for drivers of heavy vehicles were organised regularly and the installation of close circuit television (CCTV) cameras on highways was underway.