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Everyday, thousands of people including IT park users use the Katraj bypass to commute. For the past few days, I am witnessing literally one accident per day on that road. Not a very encouraging thing to see the first thing in the morning on your way to work.
Even today morning there was a major accident, wherein a Capgemini bus overturned, crushing a biker. Even a cabbie Indica was involved in some way, because it was lying on the side of the road. The entire road was blocked for a long time.
Then there was a major accident involving a big trailer truck the day before, was all over the paper. Just yesterday, my trainer at work was involved in an accident there.
Also, there was the accident I mentioned in the accidents thread, a Baleno was crushed on both sides by buses.
Due to some reasons, I was considering taking my bike to work instead of the company bus, but now, I am not sure risking my life is worth getting home/setting off half an hour earlier.
Is there any way we can make this important road safer?

Oh no.. thats my company bus. Hope it wasnt fatal, though ur description sounds like it. Come to think of it, when I told my wife about the Baleno accident, she suggested that I travel in the company bus!! Of course, I didnt

Its actually pretty safe for my commute beyond Hinjawadi. I think the problem area is from Hinjwadi to Katraj. The road is kind of wavy and u just need to drive carefully.

I just came to know that it WAS fatal. The guy was extracted from the bus half an hour after it happened, and I think he died on the spot. Poor guy, he was quite young. Was with a bag and all.
The occupants of the bus were relatively unhurt (I think).

I use that road every week during my Pune-Mumbai-Pune runs in my Santro. Although it is a 4-lane highway, it is still pretty narrow and there is plenty of heavy vehicle traffic, two-wheelers and of course, fast cars. It is this combination of fast/slow and big/small vehicles, coupled with lane indiscipline, that I think is the primary cause of accidents. Two-wheeler guys do not check if the outer lane is free before pulling out to overtake lorries or other slow vehicles. They drive painfully slowly, often right in the middle of the road, forcing faster vehicles to weave around them. And the heavy vehicles often cut lanes abruptly, keeping the faster vehicles guessing and on their toes. I don't see any short-term solution to this problem; it is up to each individual driver to be careful.

The road itself is in pretty good condition this monsoon (as is the entire Mumbai-Pune highway).

Heard from friends, that the Indica was coming down the road in the wrong direction, and that's what caused the accident.

Beyond Hinjawadi flyover, there are a couple of places where vendors sell fruits, I think guava. Nothing wrong with that, except pple who stop to buy, do so by "parking" their vehicles on the LH lane.. effectively making it a 1 lane highway !!

Also, a few wrong side drivers near Sai Expressway HP petrol pump.. I normally scare the living daylights out of these guys by driving straight at them.. horns blaring. They twitch desperately at the steering wheel and get out of the way.

Hmm.. so an innocent life lost becoz some stupid driver decided to save fuel driving on the wrong side... when will it change?

yep very true sajo, spadival..this road has become a nightmare now.Have been driving on this road since it was built some 8-10 years ago, but now its not at all drivable. Starting from Chandi chowk till Hinjewadi, there are numerous crossings..to add the woe illegegal crossings have also erupted, thanks to the localites who stay and commute in near by nagar's, wadi's, etc. Nothing to write ans say about the hinjewadi chowk to...one can come here anytime of the day to get hurdled up at this chowk.

one can think of
1) shifting to company bus for daily commute is a solution yes but still the query pertains....when will this get streamlined?
2) from the flyover to Hinewadi chowk, to avoid the traffic jam, they can ban the heavy vehicles from 8.00 to 10.00 in morning and 5.00 to 7.00 in evening.

AFAIK few months ago,guardian minister Ajitdada has sanctioned proposal for one more lane on Katraj-Dehu bypass...God knows whatz the status...Had also heard that a 6-lane road connecting Hinjewadi from Sadanand hotel (balewadi statium) is coming up....

Nightmare ????? thats a gross understatement if you ride a 2 wheeler. Been using the Chandni chowk - Wakad stretch regularly, and only by car - and somehow, i always get into super-concentration mode while driving there.
Especially the break right opposite Pashankar auto is very dangerous - its a sloping road towards mumbai side and you cannot see any traffic from the on-coming lane due to the decorative(????) vegetation on the divider.

The extra lane on Katraj-Dehu bypass is supposed to be used by trucks only ( thats one lane on each side ) But the proposal is still in its early stages ( no land acquisition by govt , land owners fighting etc etc )

The so called 6 lane road between Sadanand hotel and Hinjewadi is actually the existing road added with 2 more lanes. But it seems that that will take another 2-3 years.

IMHO, Pune-Hinjewadi commute is becoming somewhat similar to Bangalore Hosur commute. Bangy members - hope you understand where we are heading :Frustrati

I join the highway either at Hinjawadi flyover (Where I get precisely 18 seconds of green signal to turn to the highway) or at Sadanand hotel (where I wait patiently for the cops to let me thru). So I escape most of the mayhem that happens till that point.

Many people use bus due to this mess.
Is the govt trying to reduce the car population or support public transport by such crude means?

Couldnt the idiot just take the U-turn at the Wakad signal?? Due to such people, an innocent young life is snuffed out.....again. :mad:
Cant imagine what the poor guy's parents/family must be going through.

People seem to lack the basic instinct of self preservation and are completely fool hardy when it comes to taking risks. You must have see countless bikers driving on that stretch without a helmet, or worse-still with the helmet hanging on their bikes.

It would take a lot (like a 2 foot high steel barricade) to keep people from crossing over to the wrong side of the road. When you enter the Hinjewadi stretch, there are lots of well educated IT professionals driving their bikes and cars on the opp side of the road to avoid the traffic. :Frustrati

Even if I ride my bike on the highway on the left side at barely 60kmph, I have had plenty of hairy moments when suddenly you see a 207 barrelling down towards you from the wrong side of the road.
People think that the shoulder lane can be used for travelling in the opposite direction.

BTW, saw another accident today a few minutes ago. A big trailer truck went over the divider, which snapped the link between the cab and the trailer. Thankfully, I dont think there were injuries.


Yes, thankfully, its only the two wheeler riders and not the car/bus drivers. Even the Rickshaws and six-seaters do that.

Dang....In a repeat of my post below, I saw yet another turned-over-the-divider truck on the same highway on my way back today. This one had some casualties I think, because there was an ambulance there.

Maybe there is some flaw/oversight in the design of the road, which gives truckies/drivers of other big and heavy vehicles a false sense of confidence.