Lack of cameras, lights and patrolling: What makes Yamuna Expressway a ‘death trap’

Greater Noida: With over 5,600 accidents on the Yamuna Expressway since it was launched in August 2012, the speed corridor continues to be a fatally dangerous stretch for commuters. Despite two audits so far and another one in the process, accidents continue unabated on the 165km stretch.
However, Friday’s bus accident, in which eight persons were killed and several others injured, shows the dire need for structural changes that the high-speed corridor requires.

Preliminary investigations by police suggests that the driver of the bus, who died on the spot, had dozed off. The speed could have been over 110kmph — above the permissible speed of 100kmph — based on the extent of damage to the bus.

The expressway’s history of accidents is worth a mention: in June 2018, the death toll on the stretch stood at 718, with 4,956 accidents in 2,053 days. The statistics have only worsened since then.

According to data with the Yamuna Authority, as many as 551 accidents took place on the expressway between April 2018 and December 2018 and claimed 92 lives. Since January this year, 53 people have died in accidents on the highway.

Even as the death toll increases, authorities are still waiting for an audit report by IIT Delhi, which is expected to suggest structural and other changes that are required for safety.

Officials agree that structural lapses are inherent to the stretch.

“There are no vends for drivers to park their vehicles and take rest. People usually park their heavy vehicles along the highway to sit in cafes and dhabas that have mushroomed on the sides of the road,” an official said. Rampant speeding, combined with foggy conditions and sleepy drivers, make the stretch a death trap.

While YEIDA and Jaypee, the private concessionaire maintaining the highway, had earlier started the practice of offering tea to drivers, sources say it is now followed only during the winters. Jaypee claims it still offers tea between 1am-5am.

Lack of adequate patrolling by cops and shortage of police patrolling vehicles have only added to the problem. Most importantly, a shortage of cameras on the expressway means drivers speed with impunity, as surveillance is scanty. “Thirty cameras for the entire stretch are abysmally low,” SP (traffic) Anil Jha pointed out.

With just six police patrolling vehicles and 11 patrolling vehicles (of the concessionaire) on the entire stretch from Greater Noida to Agra, lack of enforcement of traffic rules is a serious issue.

Further, only three quick response teams and merely six ambulances with paramedics is woefully inadequate for the expressway where any delay can result in greater loss of lives.

Streetlights installed on the central verge also make it difficult for drivers to spot danger, a point already highlighted by a team from IIT-Delhi, which has instead suggested installing them along the side of the roads.

Though violations on the expressway are on the rise, issuing of challans is not on a par. The total number of violations, according to the Yamuna Authority, is 1.4 lakh from January this year, but the number of challans issued is only 5,746.

The SP (traffic) said that the issuing of challans suffered due to a problem in the server in October but the problem had been rectified.

YEIDA CEO Arunvir Singh said surveyors from IIT-D wanted to discuss the report with the Authority before handing it over.

“The report is expected by April first week. Any changes in the expressway would be made after the report. It will not be feasible to make changes twice,” he said.