Two-wheeler deaths top list in Cyberabad

As many as 45 two-wheeler deaths have been reported in Cyberabad limits up to February this year, the highest in the segment. According to the Cyberabad Traffic Mapping most of the victims were either youngsters or racers.

Despite the implementation of latest gizmos, speed interceptor vehicles and laser guns, with an aim to put brakes on reckless speeding on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) stretch, fatal accidents continue to rise.

As on February 28, the Rajendranagar division, which includes Rajendranagar, Mailardevpally, Narsingi and Moinabad police stations (hot spots for bike racers), has witnessed the highest number of accidents (37) compared to other divisions of the Cyberabad Commissionerate.

However Cyberabad DCP (traffic) Avinash Mohanty was quick to remark that the number of accidents has come down. But the figures on the Cyberabad Traffic Police website tell a different story. It puts the number of fatal and non-fatal road accidents cases (till February) in all the 11 divisions of the Cyberabad Commissionerate limits at 89 and 200 respectively.

The cops point fingers at the increasing popularity of bike racing as the reason for accidents. “Teenagers throw rules to the wind and put themselves and the public at risk. Participants of these races are usually below 20. Narsingi, Moinabad and Mailardevpally are some of the hot spots for racing during the weekends,” a senior traffic officer said.

At the ORR, Sundays have recorded the highest number of accidents with 31 cases. Accidents between 6 pm and 10 pm are relatively higher, with the number of fatal cases in this time slot recorded at 43. The 6 am to 8 am time slot has seen 32 accidents.“We are trying to enforce speed control equipment on high-end bikes at the time of registration,” a traffic officer said.

“Accidents will continue to take place no matter what precautions are taken. We find a lot of heavy vehicles moving on the extreme right at snail’s pace and speeding vehicles overtake them from the left, which is very dangerous,” said Cyberabad Police Commissioner CV Anand, adding that parking on the ORR was also one of the reasons for the accidents.

“Heavy vehicles are illegally parked on the roadside and this is a leading cause of high-impact accidents on such roads,” he added. More accidents are reported on internal roads, NH 44 (Bengaluru and Nagpur Roads), ORR, NH 163 (Warangal Road) and parts of roads in Rajendranagar. Over-speeding and rash driving are some of the reasons behind major accidents on the ORR.

“Regular counselling and detention of teenagers were done in the past and were leniently dealt with but now we are slapping criminal cases against the violators and not sparing anyone,” Anand said. An incident of rash driving on the ORR was witnessed on Sunday when R Ravikumar (45), a resident of Shaikpet, who was driving a Porsche, had a narrow escape when the moving vehicle hit a road divider and caught fire near Himayat Sagar Bridge on the ORR.

“The car was at a very high speed when it reached Himayat Sagar Bridge around 8 am. The driver lost control over the vehicle and rammed a road divider and caught fire,” the cops said, adding that the vehicle swerved off to the right and hit the divider. The driver sustained minor injuries and was admitted to Apollo Hospitals.

By Victor Rao