Hyderabad: Speed limits signs are set to be put up along the 158 km long Outer Ring Road (ORR) soon as traffic police make a bid to make travel safe on the road.
Of the four lanes in each direction, two lanes on the left will be marked with 80 kmph speed limit while the two right lanes will be for vehicles moving at 100 kmph speed.
ORR Chief General Manager B. Anand Mohan said this move will ensure lane discipline among motorists. He pointed out that there were instances of vehicles going at high speeds crashing into those travelling at lower speeds despite applying brakes.
HMDA officials will ensure numbers —80 and 100 — are painted big right in the middle of the respective lanes for easy understanding of the motorists. Those who do not wish to zoom past other vehicles can move in 80 km/hr lane and those who want to drive faster can move in the ‘100’ lanes.
Considering the high speeds on this expressway, speed limit signs are expected to caution the road users. Mr. Mohan said they are waiting for instructions from government on revision of speed limit after which these steps would be taken.
Meanwhile, Dr. D. Nageshwara Rao, expert on road safety welcomed the move and said it will bring about lane discipline in drivers.
“These are basic traffic rules. People driving slowly should be on the left side of the road. But here we see motorists driving slowly in the extreme right lane. This is nothing but lack of driving sense,” he added.
These are some of the few measures suggested by the Central Road Research Institute experts who carried out a survey on road safety on Outer Ring Road.
Road markings, median markers along with median delineators and speed arrestors, metal beam crash barriers near medians on curve stretches, optical speed bars are some of the safety measures that HMDA is set to take up in the next two to three months. Although there was no problem with ORR geometry, these initiatives will help in minimizing accidents on the road, say authorities.
