AHMEDABAD: Next time, you cross Pakwan Crossroads, Narol Circle, CTM Crossroads or Sola Bhagwat, slow down and drive carefully if you value your life. A report by the department of ports and transport has revealed that Ahmedabad city registered 1,185 accidents in 2020, of which 340 are fatal — the highest among all cities in the state. It also red-flagged 22 junctions and road stretches in the city as ‘accident black spots’ which need immediate engineering intervention by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, National Highway Authority of India as well as state roads and building department to make them safer for commuters.
As per the report, almost half of the state’s road accidents and fatalities in 2020 were registered in the state’s four major cities — Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot. Of the four, Ahmedabad witnessed the most accidents. Among the most troublesome junctions in the city, Pakwan Crossroads, Narol Circle, SP Ring Road near Odhav, Nikol-Dastaan Crossroads, CTM Crossroads and Naroda Patia Crossroads have witnessed more than 10 fatalities in a year.
The accident study commissioned by the state road transport department, traffic police and AMC had found that 44% of road accidents in the city had at least one minor injury, 31% accidents had serious injuries and 25% saw at least one occupant lose life. It was observed that the highest accidents during the year took place on Wednesdays which is 16% of the total. Also, close to 19% of the accidents took place during peak hours between 9am and noon and then again between 9pm and 11pm. The study also pointed out that crucial road infrastructure needed to be installed at accident-prone areas.
“Traffic calming devices should be used to slow vehicles to desired speed. These can be installed just before the approach to an intersection. This will reduce reaction time while encountering critical situations as this feature grabs the attention of the road user,” claims a research paper by JP Research which was commisioned by the state government.
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