Major highways connecting Mumbai marred by potholes, missing CCTVs, traffic violations

After Shiv Sangram chief Vinayak Mete died in a car accident on the Expressway on August 14 midday visited the three arterial highwaysmdashMumbaiPune Expressway MumbaiAhmedabad Highway and MumbaiNashik Highwaymdashconnecting the financial capital to its neighbouring citiesMumbaiAhmedabad Highway A potholeridden road near the Gujarat RTO checkpost on MumbaiAhmedabad Highway PicPradeep DhivarDuring the midday teamrsquos visit to the three arterial highways connecting Mumbai with its three neighbouring cities the correspondent came across traffic violations by drivers of both heavy and light vehicles from not adhering to lane discipline to driving on the wrong sideOne of the shocking discoveries was that the highdefinition night vision CCTV cameras set up on the MumbaiPune Expressway were not in place anymore allegedly due to issues related to nonpayment of duesAlso readOver 1500 people killed in accidents on MumbaiGoa highway in 10 yearsKhalapur Toll Naka on MumbaiPune Expressway PicSameer MarkandeNo speed CCTVs at MumbaiPune ExpresswayThe first highway midday visited was the stateoftheart MumbaiPune Expressway where Mete met with an accident that claimed his lifeThe midday team began the journey from Kalamboli towards Pune on August 16 around 430 pm and found from the beginning itself that vehicles were not following the mandatory rules for sixlane highways and changing lanes without giving proper indicationHeavy vehicles were spotted using wrong lanes despite lanes for heavy and multi axle vehicles remaining available Even a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC bus was seen driving through the extreme right lane which is usually reserved for overtaking We also witnessed tourist buses trucks completely using the right lane instead of the left While this may be due to lack of knowledge or just rash driving it poses danger to other vehiclesA filled pothole on MumbaiPune Expressway PicSameer MarkandeOne of the shocking discoveries that we made during the run on the highway was that the socalled safety measure of An inquiry revealed that cameras had been taken away weeks ago due to issues related to nonpayment of duesSpeedingA highway traffic police officer posted at one of the toll plaza on the expressway said ldquoThe main reason behind the accidents is traffic violations While the extreme left and the middle lane is reserved for heavy vehicles MSRTC buses private buses trucks and multi axle vehicles take the extreme right lane Majority of the accidents happen in the night and during wee hours Another reason is instant break not working while coming down from the ghat areardquoHe added that speeding is also a major reason behind fatal accidents In the ghat section the speed limit for heavy vehicles is 40 to 50 kmph while that for small vehicles is 60 kmph but very few adhere to the limitldquoWe penalise around 2530 heavy vehicles per day on an average for cutting lanes We also see one or two accidents daily but they are mostly minor onesrdquo the officer addedMissing CCTVs and fatigueThe official also pointed out that earlier there were high definition night vision CCTV cameras on the expressway which were installed by MSRDC along with a private company but the same were removed weeks ago due to issues related to paymentAnother highway traffic police officer posted at Khandala ghat section said ldquoMany of the accidents on the ghat section happen during wee hours when heavy vehicles go towards Khopoli and face lsquohighway hypnosisrsquordquo Elaborating further he said it can be explained as a situation where one zones out while driving and does not have a clear memory of what happened ldquoFatigue can be one of the reasons for highway hypnosis I personally feel that somewhere before Lonavala there should be a proper truck terminus in place where the drivers can rest and continue their journeyrdquo he addedFiguresAs per the accident figures for 2021 by the Highway Police of Maharashtra for MumbaiPune Expressway 200 accidents took place in the year wherein 88 people lost lives 146 people suffered grievous injuries and 18 had minor injuriesIn 2020 161 accidents were reported on the expressway claiming 66 lives while 79 had grievous injuries and 13 had minor ones In 2019 there were 353 accidents The year saw 92 people killed in road mishaps while 162 had grievous injuries and 31 had minor injuries88No of deaths due to mishap on MumbaiPune Expressway in 2021lsquoForced to switch lanes on MumNashik HighwayrsquoAshok Kumar Pandey a truck driverOn August 19 the midday team travelled on the MumbaiNashik highway to see what the situation wasTalking to midday truck driver Ashok Kumar Pandey who has been driving for the past 40 years said ldquoI always follow the lane discipline as it is difficult and risky for a trailer to switch lanes The MumbaiNashik Highway has two lanes on either side and these are not maintained properly so we have no option but to switch lanes to avoid the huge potholesrdquoA part of MumbaiNashik Highway riddled with potholes which pose risk to motoristsFiguresAssistant inspector Rakesh Dange of Kalyan traffic police said ldquoOn an average 80 to 90 vehicles are found violating traffic rulesrdquoAs per the Highway Traffic Police Department this year 28 accidents took place on the highway between Kalyan and Kasara in which 19 people died while 11 people were injuredPotholes on MumAhd Highway more mishapsPotholeridden MumbaiAhmedabad Highway PicPradeep DhivarOn August 18 midday drove through the MumbaiVapi section of MumbaiAhmedabad Highway and found cases of violations here were higher than that of MumbaiPune Expressway A Majority of the trucks and heavy trailers were driving in the extreme right lane and were often switching lanes However truck drivers blamed the poor condition of roads for the same Normal small car drivers were not any different with rampant speeding and changing of lanesA daily commuter from Mumbai to Vasai Aditya Yadav said ldquoNowadays it is common to see huge trailers tankers and dumper trucks going through extreme right which makes small vehicles change lanes We often see rash driving by truck drivers mostly dumpers which also leads to fatal accidentsrdquoFiguresAs per the Highway Traffic Police Department this year 262 accidents were reported in the stretch from Ghodbunder to Talasari border A total of 62 people lost their lives while 78 were grievously injured and 73 sustained minor injuries