Recently, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Entire families have lost their lives and there are many more who've been injured.
The increasing fatalities on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway have been attributed to over-speeding,frequent lane changing and reckless driving. All of the above is true, but there is one reason that has been missed out and an important one that too.
Lane discipline: I am not talking about small car drivers changing lanes...that's already been acknowledged. Here I am talking about Heavy vehicles particularly Trucks,trailers,tempos and the likes. Hogging all the lanes on the express highway is what they do!They do this much to the chagrin of car drivers who are then compelled to either trail these huge iron monsters at the speed of 20 kms per hr or then try to squeeze through whatever little space risking dear life. Overtaking then becomes rampant as there is a traffic build up and every car driver is trying to outdo the other to go ahead.The fear of getting stuck in a jam behind an overloaded truck compels even meek drivers like me to join the rat race.
What is even more scary is that on fairly steep slopes there is an overloaded truck making strange screeching noises going backwards rather than forwards and there is no way to escape because there is bumper to bumper traffic behind. I have experienced all of this making my driving less pleasurable and one that is filled with stress. Once I was stuck in a jam alongside many others because 3 trailers decided to hijack all the lanes and while they were at it, They suddenly broke down in a staggered manner on a slope just a little before the Lonavala exit.What then! We were stuck for over an hr. till the traffic cops got the traffic moving through a small lane which was really the shoulder.
What is the solution to this? Most countries internationally have rules wherein heavy vehicles have to drive strictly in the third lane. I have noticed this message on a random board or two alongside the expressway and that too in english. I wonder if they are able to read these at all. Why can't these boards be in hindi/ marathi?
Once we talk to them in their language they will follow what is being told. Those who despite this continue to break the law need to be heavily penalized.
There also needs to be an overall public awareness of how to share the road safely with large trucks and vice-a-versa.Untill then, I wish everyone a Safe Drive.
Article on Mumbai Pune Expressway
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/More-blood-on-expressway/articleshow/7449523.cms
3 comments:
Absolute true Rash... Seeing the amount of accidents happening in last few weeks on the expressway some things really needs to be done...
I didnt knew that u also have ur blog. good keep it up...
there was one very interesting study done on traffic jams and another one which simulated the traffic situation on a highway. What both studies found, that jams are more or less inevitable even if you have well designed and then communicated traffic rules. Why? Because people have different driving styles, react differently to potential dangers on the highway, have differing driving abilities and so on , which eventually tend to bunch up traffic on the road. This was seen in the first study, the empirical one and second , the simulated one. Of course roads are full of idiots as well, I am not discounting that. So there..dear girl..you would always have traffic jams. tcch tch.
spot on rashmi....u know about the accident i had a few weeks back...something really needs to be done about this....not just the expressway, but traffic sense in all respects!
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