H.Kishie Singh is based in Chandigarh and has been a motoring correspondent for newspapers like The Statesman, New Delhi and The Tribune.His column ‘Good Motoring’, for The Tribune ran for over 27 years. He has been also been the contributing editor for magazines like Car & Bike, Auto Motor & Sport and Auto India. His latest book Good Motoring was published recently and has co-authored a book with The Dalai Lama, Ruskin Bond, Khuswant Singh and others, called The Whispering Deodars.


Saturday, 31 October 2020

BUILDING UNSAFE ROADS

Three accidents, eleven dead!

It was a murderous night recently.

Reason: Poor road design. A car rammed the car in front, which destabilised. As a result the car was pushed over the divider into the path of an oncoming truck. This was near Shahabad.

The most useless divider is on the Zirakpur flyover. It is a cemented platform, 20-30 centimetres high. This does not prevent a car from crossing over to face oncoming traffic.

This is what was the road divider at Shahabad. A 'farzi' structure which failed to prevent the car from jumping to the opposite side.

It should be a steel barricade, the purpose of which is to keep the car on the road.

Please note it should be a barricade not a barrier- big difference! Steel barricades are a must, they protect.

Another great advantage of barricades. They are about sixty centimetres in width. When erected they are about a meter above road level. This is about the level of headlights of most cars.

 

Indian drivers have a disgusting habit of driving with their lights on full beam. This blinds the oncoming driver, creating a very dangerous situation.

The barricade will act as a shield against dazzling blinding lights.

The Government must implement such safety measures to make our roads safer.

Contractors build roads to make money. Fair enough. But building safe roads must be the object, not only making money.