Pune: Travellers on highway seek more vigilance as increasing traffic raises concerns
Pune: Travellers on highway seek more vigilance as increasing traffic raises concerns
Speeding and line cutting become the most prominent reasons for accidents on the highway.
6 May 2024
Concerns have been raised by Maharashtra commuters regarding the rise in traffic on major routes like the Pune-Mumbai expressway and the Pune-Bengaluru highway in the fiscal year 2023–24 as compared to the year before.
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) both provided data indicating a noticeable increase in traffic volume, with total vehicle traffic on the expressway reaching 4,76,65,078 in 2023–24 as opposed to 4,50,54,371 in 2022–23.
Comparably, in the most recent fiscal year, there were 39,72,089 vehicles in monthly traffic, with an average of 1.3 lakh vehicles per day. This represents an increase from 37,54,530 vehicles and 1.23 lakh daily traffic in the fiscal year 2022–2023.
The aforementioned statistics highlight the increasing need for improved law enforcement and traffic control strategies to tackle the difficulties brought about by the increase in automobile traffic.
Frequent commuters are still concerned about the safety consequences of the increasing traffic volume, despite promises of a drop in accidents. This underscores the necessity for efficient measures to guarantee road safety. Authorities have responded to these worries by highlighting the impending installation of an intelligent traffic management system (ITMS) on the highways to deal with problems like lane splitting and speeding.
Even if the ITMS is supposed to improve traffic discipline, campaigners stress that effective traffic infraction deterrents need to be physically present and enforced by the authorities. Commuters emphasise the necessity for police and transportation department authorities to take proactive efforts to prevent traffic congestion and provide safer travel experiences on these busy roadways.
Issues like noise pollution also surface due to traffic congestion on roadways. In 2020, the Mumbai police came up with a unique solution to the problem of noise pollution and carried through a trial. Decibel meters were attached to traffic light poles; if noise levels exceeding 85 decibels were recorded, the lights would reset to red and stay that way for a longer period of time.
