The Navi Mumbai police wish to get to the bottom of every accident, and have formed special teams at every police station for the purpose.
“The initiative is meant to curb accidents by finding the root cause,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Arun Patil. The team consists of an officer and three staff from each police station along with an officer from the Regional Transport Office and the government organisation responsible for constructing the road, he said.
Growing numbers
Out of the three major roads in Navi Mumbai, Palm Beach Road, Sion-Panvel Highway and Thane Belapur Road, Palm Beach Road and Thane-Belapur Road have witnessed a rise in the number of accidents in 2018 as compared to 2017. Out the three roads, Sion-Panvel Road has the highest number of accidents.
In 2018, 91 accidents were recorded on Palm Beach Road as against 40 in 2017. Among these, 13 accidents killed 14 people, 15 accidents caused serious injuries to 19 people, 10 accidents caused minor injuries to 10 people, while 58 accidents did not cause any injuries.
On Thane-Belapur Road, 153 were reported in 2018 as against 133 in 2017. Among these, 22 people were killed in 21 accidents, 61 suffered serious injuries in 51 accidents, 10 suffered minor injuries in 10 accidents and 71 accidents were without injuries. On Sion-Panvel Road, there were a total of 180 accidents in both years.
In 2018, on Sion-Panvel Road, 55 people died in 53 accidents, 81 received serious injuries in 55 accidents, 37 had minor injuries in 22 accidents and 46 accidents were without injuries.
Common causes
“Most of the fatal accidents happen at night. On Palm Beach Road, people tend to break the traffic signal at night, causing even more trouble and hence, traffic signals are kept off during the night,” Mr. Patil said.
Speeding on Palm Beach Road is a huge challenge, he said. “People need to more responsible on the road. Continuous road work, potholes and the presence of heavy vehicles are other major reasons behind accidents on the Sion-Panvel Highway and the Thane-Belapur Road.”
First accident this year
The year’s first fatal accident on Palm Beach Road was reported in the wee hours of Sunday at Sanpada, wherein an employee of the food delivery service Swiggy was mowed down by a speeding Honda City. The incident occurred at around 12.30 a.m. when Tabish Mubeen Khan (21), a resident of Koparkhairane, mowed down two bikers. Both were delivery persons who were going towards Vashi after delivering an order at Sanpada.
While Harmeet Lakhveersingh Bhatia (43), died on the spot, Salman Mohammed Hanif Shaikh (22) received serious injuries. The bikers were taking a right turn at Moraj Circle towards Vashi when the car, coming from Belapur at high speed, rammed into them.
“Both the victims were taken to Vashi Municipal Hospital. Mr. Bhatia was declared dead on arrival while Mr. Shaikh is undergoing treatment. The accused also received minor injuries on his hand and was arrested on Monday,” Police Inspector Arjun Garad from Sanpada police station said.
The accused was arrested for rash driving and causing death due to negligence and was produced before the court on Monday. He was later granted bail.