Greater Noida: After the accident in which five tourists died Yamuna Expressway Traffic police and toll in the early hours of Thursday square The authorities have decided to launch awareness campaigns for safe driving and measures to help drowsy drivers stay awake.
Drivers who sleep late at night are offered tea and water near toll plazas and asked to park their vehicles on the roadside and take a nap. The Bolero driver, who was transporting tourists on Thursday, is believed to have fallen asleep and could not apply the brakes in time. As a result, the speeding SUV rammed into the rear of an overloaded truck which was moving slowly.
According to a survey conducted by Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), 45% of accidents at the 165km-long speedway are the result of drivers falling asleep at the wheel. The survey said that most of the accidents happen between 2 am and 5 am. The accident happened at around 5 am on Thursday.
“We did a site inspection. According to our analysis, the driver may have been sleepy and could not apply the brakes when the truck in front suddenly slowed down. We have spoken to the officials there jewaro Toll Plaza. They will soon take preventive measures,” said Ganesh Prasad Saha, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Gautam Budh Nagar.
Since vehicles are not allowed to park on the expressway, the toll plaza authorities have decided to set aside space for the drivers to stop and rest. “At Jewar toll plaza, we will give tea and water to sleepy drivers from midnight till 2 or 3 pm. We have 16 lanes here. Hence, some of them can be set aside for parking of vehicles. Sumit Kumar of Jewar Toll Plaza said that drivers would be encouraged to resume their journey only after 5 am.
The move to offer tea and refreshments is not new. During winter, when visibility on the expressway is reduced to a few metres, tea is offered to help drivers stay awake. Yamuna Expressway has been notorious for accidents. According to data received from private concessionaires, 893 people have lost their lives and 8,654 people have been injured in a total of 4,223 accidents since 2016.
Apart from this, the employees of the toll plaza will make an announcement regarding safe driving. Other measures to break the monotony of drivers are also being discussed.
Saha assured that the traffic police will increase the use of speed radars on the expressway. Jaypee, which manages the expressway, has also said that it will increase the number of ambulances from 5 to 11 and patrol vehicles from 11 to 20.
“We will write to YEIDA so that signboards can be put up to spread awareness about driving. We will also ask them to conduct a survey to identify blindspots on the expressway. We have made it mandatory for first response police vehicles to fill in accident details on the Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD) platform so that the numbers can be analyzed for future reference.
Meanwhile, doctors at Kailash Hospital said that Sunita, one of the two passengers aboard the injured Bolero, is showing signs of recovery. Narayan, the other injured tourist who was behind the wheel, is still critical.
“Sunita has attained partial consciousness and is stable. Narayan is still serious. We may have to do surgery on him. He is still in the ICU,” said medical superintendent Dr AK Singh.
Police are trying to trace the truck driver.
Drivers who sleep late at night are offered tea and water near toll plazas and asked to park their vehicles on the roadside and take a nap. The Bolero driver, who was transporting tourists on Thursday, is believed to have fallen asleep and could not apply the brakes in time. As a result, the speeding SUV rammed into the rear of an overloaded truck which was moving slowly.
According to a survey conducted by Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), 45% of accidents at the 165km-long speedway are the result of drivers falling asleep at the wheel. The survey said that most of the accidents happen between 2 am and 5 am. The accident happened at around 5 am on Thursday.
“We did a site inspection. According to our analysis, the driver may have been sleepy and could not apply the brakes when the truck in front suddenly slowed down. We have spoken to the officials there jewaro Toll Plaza. They will soon take preventive measures,” said Ganesh Prasad Saha, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Gautam Budh Nagar.
Since vehicles are not allowed to park on the expressway, the toll plaza authorities have decided to set aside space for the drivers to stop and rest. “At Jewar toll plaza, we will give tea and water to sleepy drivers from midnight till 2 or 3 pm. We have 16 lanes here. Hence, some of them can be set aside for parking of vehicles. Sumit Kumar of Jewar Toll Plaza said that drivers would be encouraged to resume their journey only after 5 am.
The move to offer tea and refreshments is not new. During winter, when visibility on the expressway is reduced to a few metres, tea is offered to help drivers stay awake. Yamuna Expressway has been notorious for accidents. According to data received from private concessionaires, 893 people have lost their lives and 8,654 people have been injured in a total of 4,223 accidents since 2016.
Apart from this, the employees of the toll plaza will make an announcement regarding safe driving. Other measures to break the monotony of drivers are also being discussed.
Saha assured that the traffic police will increase the use of speed radars on the expressway. Jaypee, which manages the expressway, has also said that it will increase the number of ambulances from 5 to 11 and patrol vehicles from 11 to 20.
“We will write to YEIDA so that signboards can be put up to spread awareness about driving. We will also ask them to conduct a survey to identify blindspots on the expressway. We have made it mandatory for first response police vehicles to fill in accident details on the Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD) platform so that the numbers can be analyzed for future reference.
Meanwhile, doctors at Kailash Hospital said that Sunita, one of the two passengers aboard the injured Bolero, is showing signs of recovery. Narayan, the other injured tourist who was behind the wheel, is still critical.
“Sunita has attained partial consciousness and is stable. Narayan is still serious. We may have to do surgery on him. He is still in the ICU,” said medical superintendent Dr AK Singh.
Police are trying to trace the truck driver.