Accidents on the NH bypass raise alarm bells; The call for our own bus bays is getting louder and louder

A day after two motorcyclists died after being trapped between two KSRTC buses at Chakkaraparambu junction on the congested Edappally-Vyttila bypass NH 66, road safety experts, enforcement personnel and residents’ associations called on the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). ) increase security measures on the 7 km corridor.

That more than a dozen motorists and pedestrians have died in road accidents in Chakkaraparambu alone in the last decade throws light on the need for the NHAI to shift bus stops from the roadway of the accident-prone NH corridor, a senior traffic police officer said. “The authority needs to consider whether space can be created for bus bays on relatively wide sections of access roads. It may be possible to add the approximately 1.5 meter wide side medians.”

Nisar Karukapadath, a resident of Chakkaraparambu, who until a few years ago operated a fleet of buses on the Vyttila-NH-Vyttila bypass, pointed out the need to install proper signboards and road markings to forewarn motorists, especially those from outside the city. from bus stops at regular intervals on the densely populated Palarivattom-Vyttila bypass road. “Dedicated bus bays of 3.50 meter width are ideal and can be prepared as the NHAI makes efforts to reduce the width of the 4 meter wide median and shoulders. Similarly, the authority must remove the central median and create waiting space for at least 10 cars at every U-turn to prevent traffic congestion near each U-turn,” he said.

He also urged the NHAI, Kochi Corporation and police to eliminate encroachments and indiscriminate parking on secondary roads. “There are places where shops take up a significant proportion of the access roads and the entrances to secondary roads. All this reduced the width of the tarred area, leading to accidents and traffic delays,” said Mr Karukapadath.

Lack of dedicated bus stops on roads is a major problem on most roads in Kerala, said B. Anish Kini, scientist-in-charge, Kochi regional office of the National Transportation Planning and Research Center (NATPAC). “Other accident risk factors include access to secondary roads directly off the Edappally-Aroor bypass and also from nearby bus stops. This created many “blind spots” in which drivers cannot see each other or pedestrians who might be crossing the street in front of or behind parked buses.”

NATPAC had conducted a safety study of the bypass in 2022 as part of its Accident Free Kochi campaign. Interestingly, the route, which is considered the busiest in Kerala and also one of the most accident-prone, does not have artificial intelligence cameras, it is said.