Hebbal-KR Puram stretch most crash-prone in city: Study

A new study of Bengaluru roads has found that the Outer Ring Road (ORR) stretch between Hebbal and KR Puram to be the most crash-prone road in Bengaluru.

The study was conducted experts from the Institute of Public Health, Road Safety Authority Cell of the state government and Padmashree School of Public Health. The findings were revealed in a roundtable discussion on Wednesday.

The ongoing study, which began in January 2018 and will conclude in December 2020, comprised 1,175 motorists ranging from 14 years to 70 years along the ORR stretch. The stretch witnessed about 40 to 50 accidents every year, ranging from minor to fatal.

“The stretch was chosen based on the accident and traffic violation data provided by the traffic police and transport department. We interacted with a cross-section of users to understand the problems faced by motorists on the stretch,” explained Dr Pragati B Hebbar, Faculty, IPH.

The study and subsequent interactions with motorists and drivers revealed that most of the accidents took place due to helmet-less riding and speeding.

“In some cases, helmets were not properly strapped. About 40 per cent of the riders, especially college students, revealed that they had issues with wearing helmets including hair fall, excessive sweating and discomfort. Yet another 44 per cent riders revealed that they wear helmets just because it is mandatory to wear,” he said.

Shockingly, about 30 per cent of the interviewed motorists, who largely comprised students, did not have valid licenses. “Although 66 per cent claimed that they are aware of rules, only 29 per cent of them knew about fines for major offences and 9 per cent about blood-alcohol levels,” Dr Hebbar pointed.

According to Narayana Swamy, Additional Commissioner of Transport and Director of Road Safety Authority, every day more and more youngsters are violating the rules particularly college students.

The experts have also identified companies in Manyata Tech Park, educational institutes at Ramamurthy Nagar, HRBR Layout, in order to sensitize students and working professionals about road safety. Hospitals along the 14 km stretch have also been urged to include emergency trauma care units to attend to road accident cases, said experts.