Wrong side driving top traffic violations in city

Hyderabad: Wrong side driving has become a common practice in the city recently. According to a report released by the Hyderabad City Police, cases booked against traffic violations have registered a rise over the previous years. Among many violations, wrong side driving sticks out in the list of violations with highest increase. About 1.05 lakh cases were booked till October in 2018 for wrong side driving in the city, as compared to 40,510 cases booked in 2017.

However, compared to 2017, there is a slight decrease in the number of deaths due to road accidents and also in the number of fatal accidents themselves. As many as 259 people perished in road accidents in 2017 and 254 people died in 2018 so far. Similarly, there were 252 fatal accidents in the city in 2017, and about 247 accidents in 2018. Also, the number of pedestrians died in road accidents has come down this year. Wrong side driving is one of the major contributors in the fatal accidents recorded. According to Vinod Konumula, chief functionary at Federation of Road Safety, U-turns are the main reason for the wrong side driving. Obeying traffic rules and travelling more distances to take a U-turn seemed to be difficult for Hyderabadis. As such, many tend to take shortcuts and resort to wrong side driving, he observed.   

The number of U-turns in the city is increased in the city, as a solution to traffic congestions, but they seem to be proving otherwise. Citing examples of U-turns at Tarnaka and Railway Degree College, Konumula said that U-turns have failed in reducing traffic congestions. They also contribute to more pollution as people travel longer distances to take a U-turn, he added. The violators are especially autos and two wheelers, and a number of violations happen in the night time. The U-turns are also adding to the difficulties of pedestrians in crossing the road, as they find it hard to cross roads, Konumula said. There has also been an increase in other violations like cell phone driving and not wearing helmets. 

According to the Chairman of Road Safety Authority, T Krishna Prasad, strict enforcement of rules is the reason for the increase in traffic violations cases. CC cameras and setting targets for traffic police also helped in catching violators efficiently. Increase in the number of cases booked against violators results in decrease in fatal and road accidents, he added. Krishna Prasad opined that road safety framework that is yet to be released would drastically help in reducing the accidents in the city and across the state. 

BY Venkata Kondubhatla