Noida: Barely 24 hours after two road crashes left one dead and 15 others injured, some of them grievously, traffic cops have cautioned motorists to drive carefully on the highways and said they will soon reduce the official speed limits of vehicles plying on the Noida and Yamuna expressways.
From Dec 15, cops plan to cap speed limits for light vehicles at 75 kmph on both expressways.For heavy vehicles, the limit will be revised to 50kmph on the Noida expressway and 60 kmph on the Yamuna expressway. The revised timings, implemented each year during the annual winter fog season, will be in place till Feb 15. Currently, light vehicles can travel at 100 kmph and heavy vehicles at 60 kmph on the Noida expressway and 100 kmph and 80 kmph, respectively, on Yamuna Expressway.
Over the last week, visibility across NCR has plummeted to 500-800 metres. On Sunday morning, the 75-year-old daughter of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Maharaj — the founder of Prem Mandir in Vrindavan — died and seven others, including two of her sisters, were injured when a truck crashed into their Toyota Camry and Innova Hycross on the Yamuna Expressway. In another accident, eight people were injured after a canter hit two cars on the Yamuna Expressway on the route from Agra to Noida. "Driving at high speeds in foggy conditions is fraught with risks as it becomes difficult for drivers to see obstacles," DCP (traffic) Yamuna Prasad said.
Noida Authority, meanwhile, plans to install new speed limit signs on the Noida Expressway, and Jaypee Infratech, the concessionaire, will do the same on the Yamuna Expressway.