Hyderabad: Speeding is one of the major reasons for accidents on highways but it goes unmonitored. Highways that constitute about a quarter of the overall road length in the state account for about half the fatalities in accidents.
There are no speed guns and CCTV cameras along national and state highways. Experts said the government should make use of the technological advancements to bring down the accident rate due to speeding and other violations.
Former director general of Engineering Staff College of India S.N. Rao, a traffic and transport expert, said keeping a check on speeding vehicles on highways require men, machinery and infrastructure.
“There should be two patrolling and intercepting vehicles for every 50 km, one each on either side of the road so that either can reach the half-way mark in 15 minutes. There should be CCTV cameras and speed guns at various locations on every 50-km section. We had recommended it a few years back in undivided Andhra Pradesh but most of our suggestions remained on paper,” he said.
Telangana State Road Safety Authority additional director-general Krishna Prasad said on average of 7,000 people die in 20,000 road accidents every year in Telangana. While driver negligence is one of the main reasons, speeding is another. Together the national and state highways comprise 22 per cent of the road length in Telangana but account for 43 per cent of accidents and 48 per cent of deaths, he said.
Mr Krishna Prasad said the RSA had recommended to the Road Transport Authority to suspend the licence of 47 motorists booked for speeding. “We have also written to the government to provide surveillance cameras and speed guns and interceptor vehicles on highways. The government has, in principle, agreed to release money for the same,” he said.
