Mumbai: Twenty-eight per cent of accidents are fatal and a rising number of these are road mishaps, mostly occurring on Palm Beach Road, Navi Mumbai. To get to the root of the problem is the need of the hour, according to Arun Patil, assistant commissioner of police (traffic). Special teams have been set up at every police station to probe the increasing number of road accidents in the city. Each team consists of four police personnel — a senior police officer, three staffers and an officer from the Regional Transport Office (RTO). The team will be supervised by the road development authority and inspect roads and accident spots, said a senior traffic officer.
Palm Beach Road near Sanpada is one of the three major roads in Navi Mumbai, the other two being the Sion-Panvel Highway and Thane-Belapur Road. These roads witnessed an alarming rise in accidents in 2018 as compared to the preceding year. Patil said, “In 2018, 91 accidents were recorded on Palm Beach Road, as against 40 in 2017, more than a two-fold increase. Among these, 13 accidents claimed 14 lives, while others caused injuries to over 30 people.”
Speeding and rash driving are prima facie, the major cause of accidents on Palm Beach Road and Sion Panvel Highway is speeding and rash driving. On Palm Beach Road, most fatal accidents happen at night, as people tend to disobey traffic signals at this time, hence, traffic signals are switched off at night, said Patil. A senior traffic police officer said speeding on Palm Beach Road has always been a huge challenge. Continuous repair work, potholes and presence of heavy vehicles could be some of the reasons for major accidents, but people also need to observe rules of the road while driving, he said. The alarming rise in accidents has scared the local residents.
Palm Beach Road resident Reshma Kazaria, a homemaker, says, “There is at least one accident per week and it sends shivers down our spine to even think of venturing on that road on weekends. It’s just not accidents, we must also face the bike racing at night.”
