Mumbai's Killer Roads: Bad planning makes Sion spot a nightmare

Everard Nagar SionThe Everard Nagar stretch of road is a motoristrsquos nightmare The road that connects Chunabhatti with Sion has become a killer spot for many Speeding as usual is the most common reason for accidents here However a little engineering modification at this spot could probably save many lives Lack of signage and dividers is a huge problem at Everard Nagar On the south bound road vehicles coming from Priyadarshini Circle either take the Sion flyover or the road underneath itAltmash and his friends bikes being taken away following their accident on the Everard Nagar stretch last yearHowever many times last minute turns when people change their minds midway causes accidents at the junction On the other side of the road vehicles coming from Sion Circle combine with vehicles coming from the flyover Many times bikers and motorists are unable to spot vehicles especially heavy vehicles coming from the lower end of the flyover resulting in accidents While vehicles descend from Sion flyover towards Chembur luxury buses that halt along the road next to it take sudden turns to pick up waiting passengers and have caused innumerable accidents hereBoth bikers were killed PicSameer MarkandeCase Study On the night of June 15 2017 Altmash Mohammed Sheikh 20 and Sohail Kadar Pathan 16 along with their friends left home around 11pm to enjoy Ramzan treats at Mohammed Ali Road Mohsin the elder brother of Altmash remembered the day he lost his sibling ldquoAltmashrsquos friends asked him to accompany them to Mohammed Ali Road but a hour after he left we received a call from the cops telling us that he had met with an accidentThe nonexistent median on a long stretch of road PicAtul KambleThe bike that Altamash and his friend Sohail were on crashed into a dumper near Everard Nagar and then into some barricades put up for the flyover in the middle of the road Even today the road is poorly lit and motorists have no idea when to take a right or left turnTotal Accidents07201718Types of accidentsVehicles that speed up at night before getting on to the flyover vehicles descending from the flyover taking sudden left turns crashing into vehicles coming from under the flyover lack of signage that confuses motoristsTotal fatalities07Death02Major injuries01Minor injuriesSource Traffic departmentProblemsgt Lack of signage and dividersgt Cars taking last minute turns before the flyovergt Blind spotsSolutionsgt Clear signage indicating that vehicles should take a right or leftgt Dividers to be broadened which will stop vehicles coming from both sides from crashing into each otherLocals speakSantosh Sanjkar Advocate local residentlsquoFrom Priyadarshini Circle to Everard Nagar there is no visible signage and this results in motorists taking decisions at the last minute Also there should be a speed limit mentioned here After crossing Priyadarshini vehicles tend to race to 100kmhr which is a big cause of accidents The spot where Sion flyover descends has to be channelised properly to avoid vehicles crashingrsquoSneha Yadav Resident ChemburlsquoI travel every day from Chembur to Sion and notice that at the spot where Sion flyover ends towards Chembur many vehicles take a sudden left turn Many times when I come from Sion circle below the flyover I have to slow down as luxury buses and dumpers take a sudden left turn Vehicles coming from the flyover have to allow one lane for some distance after descending to avoid accidentsrsquoPolice speakKeshav Sanap Sr Inspector Chembur Traffic DivisionlsquoThe problem at the spot is speeding and because of this it becomes difficult to control onersquos vehicle Also lack of discipline adds to the woes To avoid accidents at the start of the Sion flyover we always place one constable who ensures that people follow lane discipline but many donrsquot unfortunatelyrsquoExperts speakYogesh Ambe Road safety expert BIGRSlsquoIndicators must be put up to stop motorists from making lastminute lane changes Also Sion flyover which descends to Everard Nagar has to have a divider to prevent vehicles from the flyover and those coming from below from crashing Buses that stop at the end of the flyovermust have specific timingsrsquoDo you have a Killer storyWrite to us and send us photos on mailbagmiddaycomNext Priyadarshini Circle ChunabhattiAlso ReadMumbais killer roads Speed demons make Kherwadi bridge hellCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates