In Kudligi taluk, deaths in road accidents are spiking

Safety

Police suggest having skywalk over highway

Deaths in road accidents have increased in Kudligi taluk, Ballari district, in the past two years, police records show. Police data till October 24 show that 36 cases of death in road accidents were registered since January 2019. Most of them were drunken driving cases.

Thimmanna S. Chamnur, sub-inspector, informed The Observer: “In 2017, 52 cases of accident were registered, while in 2018 there were 53 cases. In 2019 till October, 48 cases were registered at our police station. We plan to install CCTV cameras and a speed detector on the highway so that we can control rash driving and drunken driving cases.”

Rudhramani, assistant sub-inspector, said: “On public request, our team has started patrolling the highway thrice a day. There will be at least one patrolling van standing on the highway at all times.” The patrolling vehicle will report to the nearest police station if any accident takes place.

Manjunatha, a bakery owner, said: “Because of inadequate patrolling on the highway, people drive at high speeds.” There are no speed limit boards or additional lane for bikers. There is a congestion of heavy trucks on the highway as the road connects Ballari with Bengaluru.

Manjula G.S., a flower seller on the side of the highway, said every month there are two or three accidents. She has seen many people dying in accidents. Most of the accidents take place when pedestrians and vehicles crossing the road are hit by trucks or cars.

Venugopal, who lives in a village, said: “There is a shop close to the national highway where people buy alcohol and drive. This causes accidents. The police have to take serious action against the alcohol shop and order it to shift to some other place.” There should be no sale of alcohol at night.

Ramanthan, a businessman, said: “As a lot of heavy trucks travel on the road, the government should plan a skywalk for villagers. Police should take steps to fix signboards prescribing speed limits on the road.” People from the villages must be careful while driving on the road.

Dr M.A. Saleem, inspector general of police, traffic and road safety, said: “This is a very serious problem faced by the villagers. Local authorities should make strict rules for road safety. The government has approved a National Road Safety Policy. It outlines various policy measures such as promoting awareness, establishing a road safety information database, encouraging safer road infrastructure including application of intelligent transport, and enforcement of safety laws.”

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