Solar lamps on barricades to light up black spots in accident-prone zones in Coimbatore

COIMBATORE: Coimbatore City police have introduced solar-powered light-attached barricades in accident black spots and areas with no street lights across the city to aid accident prevention efforts.Police have purchased more than 143 solar blinkers with each barricade affixed with red, blue and white colours, a panel and a battery. The main purpose of this is to prevent accidents due to speeding by motorists during night hours as the blinkers will enable better visibility, said sources.  

“Usually we place the barricades on major roads in a zigzag pattern, thus the curve access reduces the speed of vehicles, reducing accidents due to speeding. However, these barricades can also lead to accidents, if placed in low-visibility areas where there are no street lights available. So, we avoid placing barricades at such places, even though it is an accidental black spot. Now the solar-powered light-attached barricades help to handle this issue,” said a senior police officer.

Already we have solar blinkers in road safety measures. But those were single light-mounted blinkers. But this time, we have introduced a new type of solar-powered lights on barricades that offer multiple blinks at a time, he added.  

Deputy Commissioner (Traffic), N Mathivanan said, “The barricades with the solar blinkers have particularly been placed at areas mostly where there are cut roads. We brought it from the district road safety fund and each barricade costs Rs 6500. We placed it on Palakad, Pollachi and Saravanampatti - Thudiyalur road.”