[sajo]

The numbers are shocking. These numbers were published as a part of a report published in TOI a few weeks back.
And I believe the number has gone up by atleast 10 since then. These numbers would probably be the highest in the country for any city. Certainly not something Punekars are proud of. :(

Just today morning, noticed an accident involving a black/green Yamaha FZ and a tipper truck, that was almost certainly fatal as well, given the condition of the bike. This happened on the NH4 bypass.

I believe Pune is leading because :

- Explosion in the number of idiots behind the wheel/in the saddle. Result of a growing economy perhaps ?
- Shoddy execution and haphazard planning involving civil projects. Just today read of a lady being killed after a motorcyle she was travelling on collided with a boulder left behind as a part of road works.
- 95% of the two wheeled population not wearing helmets.
- Rashly driven heavy & light commercial vehicles. Tipper trucks, especially. How about having them banned within City limits from 6 am to 12 AM ? And strictly enforcing that ban ?

[mb_jg]

I saw that accident on the way to Hinjewadi today morning, & approx 200 meters ahead was a car which had probably bumped into a trailer ahead, the bonnet was crumpled.
I was on my way back from Kolhapur on Sunday, & I was disgusted at the way the MH-12 vehicles & others too were driven.
I am talking about educated people in big cars, which would make you believe that they are aware of traffic rules.
The list of traffic violations was just endless on the highway, speeding, cutting lanes without indicating, overtaking from the left, etc etc. I have had colleagues at work tell me that it's ok to drive in the fast lane (right lane) & overtake from the left lane these are the comments coming off people who are supposedly educated! What would you expect from a truck driver or cab driver?
We have grown as an economy, but not as a community! I am actually fed up of the ARROGANCE & IGNORANCE everyone carries around when it comes to driving safely.
I am not going to try & propagate driving safety as I believe that we have already doomed ourselves with ignorance. Just posting frustrated events won't help anymore.

[MX6]

Surprisingly this number seems less compared to all the deaths I read in the paper. Atleast 2 a day brings the average to above 700. Sadly, people aren't learning from the deaths they read about and still go about driving / riding dangerously. Guess it is time make helmets mandatory and also educate the cab drivers on safe driving habits. nothing can be done about the vehicles driven by goondas affiliated to parties. So hope organisations like sptm/ rotary/ lions/ various ngos etc reaches their goal in helping pune have a safer traffic in future.

[sajo]

Also, 402 were just the deaths.
The number of injuries would be many fold higher I believe. The road infrastructure in Pune simply isnt enough to cope with the every growing vehicular traffic, much worse than other cities.

[mb_jg]

I think flyovers can ease the traffic flow in a lot of hot spots all over the city. It's really time for the politicians to stop stuffing their bank accounts & use our tax money for what it was originally intended for.
How much money do they think they need to survive a lifetime?

[HammerHead]

The news is not at all shocking if you see the way people drive on roads with no lane markings. One should really expect lane discipline from people who are not accustomed to lanes? Apart from that look at the way roads are designed. J.M road after making it oneway is a mess. Look under the recently build flyovers near university junction. Its so confusing. Look the junction where road from Bavdhan, after Banjara Hills connect to Mumbai Pune bypass Road. Its so dangerous.

Number of occasions I have seen bikers not stopping at the signal.

[MX6]

Originally Posted by sajo

Also, 402 were just the deaths.
The number of injuries would be many fold higher I believe. The road infrastructure in Pune simply isnt enough to cope with the every growing vehicular traffic, much worse than other cities.

Originally Posted by mb_jg

I think flyovers can ease the traffic flow in a lot of hot spots all over the city. It's really time for the politicians to stop stuffing their bank accounts & use our tax money for what it was originally intended for.
How much money do they think they need to survive a lifetime?

No amount of roads or infrastructure can help prevent accident related deaths unless people adopt safe practices. Incidentally, thanks to jams and slow moving traffic, the fatality is reduced enormously.
Imagine you have morons zooming past at high speeds because the roads and bridges are nice and inviting.
Existing roads are being badly mis-used. Every two wheeler, cab and even cars I see are being driven nowadays on dedicated cycle paths. No one wants to wait for a jam to clear. No one wants to drive a 100 meters ahead to take a U turn at a designated junction. They decide to drive in the wrong side. Even trucks come out of wrong sides from their weighing bridges and fuel stations all of a sudden. And the jay walking public who weild mobile phone and walk and talk much to the chagrin of commuters.
Lastly, the poor dedicated brts line is anything but dedicated to buses.

[hallik9]

Agree.The behaviour shown by some of the folks on the road is below average.Some of them have scant respect for the rules,discipline.
The numbers are shocking.I spent close to 3 months in Pune and travelled from Pashan Sus road to Hinjewadi every day and believe me,I never had a sense of security while driving on those roads.

[mb_jg]

I was referring to reducing traffic flow. Freak accidents are part of daily life now! No cop or citizen is bothered if they see one.

[prince_pervez]

Respect for traffic rules to save ones own life should be taught in schools. Here I see traffic lessons given in schools where kids are taught how to cross the roads and all. More than that there should be a willingness to respect the constitution which has made rules for the masses.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Respect for traffic rules to save ones own life should be taught in schools. Here I see traffic lessons given in schools where kids are taught how to cross the roads and all. More than that there should be a willingness to respect the constitution which has made rules for the masses.

hit the nail! In India all we learn is stunting seeing our movie heroes and people around us. Losing our hair and our pride is still way above losing our life when it comes to wearing helmet or seat belt.

And I have lost count of haw many times children were killed playing on the street and angry mob took violent action and got a speed breaker in memory. Near my engineering college we had 4 groups of 6 speed breakers (total 24!) within 50 feet, in remembrance of a traffic victim.

Nobody stopped their children from playing though.

I may sound rude but I have stopped thinking about those who don't care about their own life. Like those talking on cellphone while on a motorcycle or walking on a train track. It's Darwinism at work.

[motorpsycho]

Originally Posted by sajo

T

I believe Pune is leading because :

- Explosion in the number of idiots behind the wheel/in the saddle. Result of a growing economy perhaps ?
- Shoddy execution and haphazard planning involving civil projects. Just today read of a lady being killed after a motorcyle she was travelling on collided with a boulder left behind as a part of road works.
- 95% of the two wheeled population not wearing helmets.
- Rashly driven heavy & light commercial vehicles. Tipper trucks, especially. How about having them banned within City limits from 6 am to 12 AM ? And strictly enforcing that ban ?

On point 1 +1000^1000

I couldn't agree more , I am scared riding on the Hadapsar -Sasane nagar road. Everyone parks at their own discretion. The narrow roads have been encroached. The roads get chocked in the evenings and there are hardly any police there.

Rashly driven Cabs and trucks are a serious problem. Even us commuters are to blame , many of us ride/drive with high beams in the city and i too have done it.

[sajo]

Originally Posted by mb_jg

Freak accidents are part of daily life now! No cop or citizen is bothered if they see one.

Originally Posted by MX6

Incidentally, thanks to jams and slow moving traffic, the fatality is reduced enormously.

Both the statements are sad but true.

One more aspect is that Punekar's simply dont treat the highway as an highway. How many times at night you were scared into slamming your brakes as people dart in and out of the shadows of the divider at will.
Or finding yourself face to face with some moronic truck driver coming from the wrong side on the highway (especially true for the part of the road along the Pashan Lake).
They are just disasters waiting to happen.

Also, atleast 50% of the road deaths could have been avoided had the rider been wearing a helmet.