Samruddhi: 100 days, 900 accidents & 31 fatalities

Nagpur: In the first 100 days since its inauguration, the Samruddhi Expressway has witnessed as many as 900 accidents, including many fatal. A study conducted by Regional Transport Office of Maharashtra government revealed that these accidents had claimed 31 lives till March 20, 2023.
Taking note of this, the authorities have now decided to introduce mandatory counselling of drivers at all entry points of the expressway. TOI had on December 31, 2022, reported about the plan to set up counselling centres for drivers on Samruddhi Expressway.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated Nagpur to Shirdi section of the expressway on December 11 last year.
On Tuesday, state transport department and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) officials held a review meeting. A day before chairing the meeting, deputy transport commissioner Bharat Kalaskar travelled around 500km to inspect the expressway.
It was decided in the meeting that mandatory counselling of drivers would be organised at all eight entry points of the expressway, said Kalaskar. The focus of the counselling will be on curbing overspeeding, he said. For this, eight counselling centres will be set up on the Nagpur-Shirdi section. The centres, one in each district, will be set up in the next seven days. There will be 30 minutes to 1 hour counselling sessions for drivers by RTO officials to curtail overspeeding, which has resulted in the highest number of accidents.
The counselling session will begin with a short film on road safety, which will be followed by a question paper solving by the driver and a pledge to not indulge in dangerous driving. The drivers will also be given information about the dangers of under/over-inflated and worn out tyres.
During the meeting, several instructions were also given to the MSRDC for installing awareness boards regarding road safety.
As per the analysis of accident data of Samruddhi Expressway from December 11, 2022 to March 20, 2023, mechanical breakdowns due to overspeeding of vehicles accounted for over 400 accidents.
Punctures and tyre bursts had led to over 130 and 108 accidents, respectively. Similarly, vehicles running out of fuel contributed to 14% (126) accidents on the portion of the expressway opened for traffic.
Though no separate data was shared, according to the study, tail-end accidents, drivers falling asleep, mechanically unfit vehicles and animal entry were among the major causes of accidents on the Samruddhi Mahamarg.
The meeting was attended by Nagpur rural and city officiating RTO Vijay Chavhan and Ravindra Bhuyar, IMV Ashfaq Ahmed and MSRDC senior officer Balaji Mangam.