The Yamuna Expressway, designated for seamless drive from Greater Noida to Agra, is proving to be a bane for those who use it for saving time and end up over-speeding their vehicles that in turn result in bursting of tyres. This year, Yamuna Expressway has recorded 41 accidents resulting in the death of 28 people and injuring 75. Most of the accidents were caused by bursting of tyres due to over-speeding.
The Yamuna Expressway, which was inaugurated on August 9 last year, has witnessed over 50 accidents in last 11 months in Greater Noida region alone and nearly 40 people have lost their lives so far.
The first accident took place after three days of its opening — five BTech students were injured when their car collided with the divider — in trying saving an animal. On August 25, Delhi-based businessman Rahul Singhal (35) was killed and four of his family members were injured as his car collided with a stationary truck near Jewar area. Three days later, a truck got turtle claiming lives of five people. On January 31, a youth lost his life while 20 others were injured in a pile-up of over one dozen vehicles.
Data of the last eleven months reveals that nearly 80 per cent of the total accidents, which left around 40 people dead and over 100 injured, have been due to over-speeding and bursting of tyres. Expressway officials, however, claim that there is no specific pattern other than over-speeding.
"People need to drive cautiously within the speed limit. Also, for driving a long distance, the condition of tyres needs to be minutely checked to reduce the risk of their overheating and bursting," said the official.
The officials further added that they are concerned with the problem of over-speeding of vehicles and have also taken safety measures in this regard.
"We have installed speed guns at all of our toll plazas and provide information to police about those vehicles which cross the limit of 110 km per hour. We have also put signage at various places that warn the travellers not to drive beyond the limit," he added.
"Apart from this, we had held a three-day session in association with Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) in March to spread awareness about road safety. We also conducted a survey of vehicles on the expressway to know the cause of accidents and found that tyres fitted in tractors and trucks are not fit for plying and create wheel imbalances. During the survey, it was also revealed that majority of tyres were running without correct air-pressure that also cause major accidents sometimes," the official further said.
Brajesh Kumar Singh, Superintendent of Police (Rural) of Greater Noida, said that though they come down heavily against the errant drivers, people continue driving rashly.
"We are planning to reserve separate police force for patrolling on the expressway. We have also been planning to introduce a traffic management system for the entire carriageway so we could stop such incidents," said the SP.