Deaths on Pune expressway down 25% to 82 in 4 years

Mumbai: A combination of infrastructural improvements and strict enforcement reduced fatalities on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway by 25% in the past four years. According to data with the state traffic department, 82 people lost their lives to road crashes on the 100-km road in 2021, down from 110 deaths in 2018 (see box).
Casualties are likely to reduce further once the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) completes a new tunnel that is being dubbed the ‘missing link’.“We started with a comprehensive analysis of the cause and location of crashes on the expressway. This helped spot a pattern,” said additional director general B K Upadhayaya, who until recently headed the state traffic department. The maximum crashes are in the ghat section where heavy vehicles coming down the slope are on neutral gear that leads to brakes heating up and often results in crashes. While the gradient in the ghats cannot be changed, MSRDC has proposed a tunnel that will bypass the sloping roads in the ghats and reduce commuting time.
“Fixing bad roads, treating ‘black spots’ (frequent crash sites) and electronic enforcement, including installation of 10 hidden surveillance cameras, reduced fatalities over four years. We pushed the state government to set up truck stops for heavy vehicles facing breakdowns or for drivers wanting to take rest. This has reduced rear-end collisions (speeding vehicles hitting parked trucks) to some extent,” said Piyush Tewari of the non-profit Save Life Foundation.
Speeding has been a key cause of crashes. A senior transport official said reduction in speed limit from 120kmph to 100kmph for four-wheelers in November 2019 has helped curb accidents to some extent.
The expressway had recorded three deaths per 2km in 2016, 150% higher than the national average of 1.5 deaths per 2km, making it one of the deadliest in the country.
The police ran an awareness campaign in adjacent villages against riding bikes on the high speed road and also trained villagers to rush crash victims to hospitals within the Golden Hour to save lives.
Transport activist Jagdeep Desai said overseas, heavy vehicles are tracked by GPS for lane discipline and this should be incorporated. “Most heavy vehicles have dysfunctional lights and can’t be seen in the tunnels at night or during rainfall, which is dangerous for other motorists,” he said.