The blatant speed limit violations by vehicles on the Kozhikode-Kannur bypass, taking advantage of faulty surveillance cameras and irregular highway patrol, is posing a threat to the safety of pedestrians and other motorists who wait for their turn to cross the road at various intersections.
Incidentally, many smaller junctions on the route have no effective traffic control mechanisms. As of now, there are 10 such risky intersections where safe crossing is a challenge.
“Vehicles taking the highway neither stop nor even reduce speed to permit motorists or pedestrians to cross the road. On the Kozhikode-Kannur bypass, all small junctions without traffic signals or police control contribute to the mess,” said Babu Erambath, a resident of Vengeri. He added that there were even instances where pedestrians overlook speeding vehicles and risk their lives to cross the road.
Though home guards are deployed at a few high-risk intersections, it has largely proved ineffective. Moreover, the services of home guards are temporary in nature, and they turn up for duty only during peak hours.
Public Works Department (PWD) officials said local residents’ demand for increasing the number of existing rumble strips, humps, and dividers on the highway as a quick solution to the issue was hardly a practical option, as it would only impede traffic on the Ramanattukara-Pooladikunnu stretch of NH-66. They stressed the need for intensifying enforcement against speed limit violations on the 20-km stretch.
Meanwhile, police and Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) officials said their interceptors and patrol vehicles were always present on the highway to track violations. They claimed that the installation of signal lights or deployment of home guards at all junctions were impractical considering the limited budget.