‘Even a faulty traffic light can be fatal’

The woes of Bengalureans on public roads are never ending. Besides motorists, these roads cause problems for pedestrians as well. The poorly designed footpaths, uneven surfaces, potholes, lack of proper street lighting and signages, motorcyclists riding on footpaths, lack of road geometry and more adversely affect the road safety of citizens. DH spoke to a cross-section of Bengalureans to get their insights on this.

Priyanshu K, a research assistant who relies heavily on public transport, explains, “Even with a little rain, many roads near Bannerghatta road and J P Nagar area get waterlogged, causing traffic blockades. In many cases, this waterlogging is from clogged drains, which makes it quite unsafe for pedestrians too.”

“While walking, I am extremely cautious of vehicles that splash water during rains. There are areas which have been dug up for Metro construction work. Since there are rarely any warning signs, this leads to a lot of confusion and dangerous situations,” she adds.

Also read: Data critical for road safety

Pretisha Joshna, a resident Lingarajapuram, says that even though road accident fatalities have come down significantly due to improvements in automobile technology, there are still many potential road hazards that can cause injuries or even death.

People should keep their vehicles in sound condition and environmental factors can also affect road safety. She elaborates, “The design of some roads requires careful navigation, failing which motorists crash their vehicle. Even a traffic stop light has the potential to malfunction and cause accidents.”

Harsha Srinivas Shet, a video producer, travels across the city as part of his work. “I agree that Bengaluru is one of the most favourable residential cities in India, but when I see the poor roads, I feel otherwise. When we buy a new vehicle we pay around 10-15% of the total cost to the Government as road tax and cess etc, but where does all this money go?” he wonders.

Bengaluru has never been free of under-construction roads, potholes, unscientific speed breakers and other obstacles. At several places, internet and telephone wires are poorly managed, hanging from electric poles and trees on roadsides.

Harsha continues, “As the city roads are unsafe, many cyclists attach their bicycles to the car and travel to the city’s outskirts to enjoy a nice ride. Sometimes, footpaths are busier than main roads because of extended private parking lots. Parking rental vehicles on the footpath and the gimmick of 10-minute food and grocery delivery are putting everyone to trouble.”

Also read: Analysing data key to preventing crashes

Citizens point out that the city is struggling with fundamental road infrastructure issues despite being known as a fast-growing tech hub and laboratory of start-ups.

Sheeba Priyadarshini, a PhD Scholar, has this to say: “Road projects take too long to complete. Concretisation of the road surfaces has led to only a tiny fraction of ground for water to seep in. During heavy downpours, the sight of uprooted trees on Bengaluru roads has become very common. It would take more than a day for the water to recede, and in some areas, water is required to be pumped out of streets and basements. Sick people and pregnant women suffer the most as they cannot make it to the hospital on time. This, sadly, claimed two lives recently.”

As a possible solution to the problems, she notes, “Retaining the water and recharging wells on the city streets would help restore groundwater and avoid floods, eventually reducing the accidents.”