NHAI implements road safety measures at ‘black spot’ near Ambur after school bus accident
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Blinkers and poles with LED strips were installed on the carriageway near the intersection to reduce the speed of vehicles, an official of NHAI said.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has undertaken a series of road safety measures, including installing blinkers at Vadaputhupatti junction, regarded as a ‘black spot’ or accident-prone spot, on the Chennai–Bengaluru National Highway (NH 48) near Ambur town in Tirupattur.
The action comes after four students of a private school and the driver of the school bus in which they were travelling were injured when a container lorry rammed their vehicle at the junction on Saturday. Traffic was affected for nearly two hours on the route due to the incident.
“As a stop-gap measure, blinkers and poles with LED strips were installed on the carriageway near the intersection to reduce the speed of vehicles,” an official of NHAI said.
Accompanied by Tirupattur SP Akshay Anil Wakhare and NHAI officials, Collector V. Nallasivan inspected the junction.
Blinkers, reflectors, and signage have been installed in most of the 27 ‘black spots’ in Tirupattur, especially those on the Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway and the Hogenakkal-Tirupattur High Road (SH 60), which connects Pennagaram and Dharmapuri with Tirupattur, and from where most of the fatal accidents are reported.
“A bridge at the intersection will be the permanent solution to prevent accidents. The district administration should take steps to construct it soon,” said R. Sampath, a motorist.
The police said a total of 98 pedestrians had been killed in accidents at these spots since January. On an average, 264 people had been killed in such spots in the district every year since 2017.
The police said most of these junctions on highways had unmanned pedestrian crossings, making them unsafe for pedestrians. “As most of the national highways have a speed limit of 90 kmph, vehicles pass them at high speeds. In addition to zebra crossings and barricades with reflective stickers, blinkers help motorists remain alert to pedestrian movement at these junctions,” the police said.
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