Hyderabad: Study Links Speeding Deaths to Flawed Road Design
Flyovers, such as Langar Houz, which have been repeatedly flagged as accident-prone, often lack regular audits or enforcement cameras, leaving them vulnerable to overspeeding and risky overtaking.
Hyderabad: A 32-year-old techie died late last month on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) when his speeding SUV rammed into the central median near Taramatipet.
Two weeks earlier, a teenage girl lost her life in Langar Houz after the two-wheeler she was riding pillion on skidded at high speed while swerving to avoid an open manhole.
In June, a delivery executive was killed in Jubilee Hills when a car allegedly racing downhill on Road No. 45 hit him as he crossed.
Though the circumstances differ, a new study suggests a common thread runs through these tragedies: a mix of flawed road design, weak enforcement and poor traffic segregation that makes speeding almost inevitable on Indian roads.
The report — Accelerating Risk: A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis on Facilitators and Barriers to Speeding — by Pratishtha Singh, Soumyadeep Bhaumik, Julie Brown and Jagnoor Jagnoor, published in the journal Injury Prevention warns that countries like India are not only battling reckless driving but systemic conditions that allow high-speed crashes to occur repeatedly.
“Most of our roads are designed for flow, not safety. There’s hardly any physical separation between vehicles, pedestrians or two-wheelers. We treat speeding like a behavioural problem, not a design problem,” a Hyderabad-based traffic planner said, citing the study’s observations on the absence of speed-calming measures in low- and middle-income countries.
In Hyderabad, this is visible on stretches of the ORR, where long, uninterrupted roads invite dangerous acceleration. Despite multiple fatalities this year, barriers remain inconsistently placed and speed detection is patchy.
Flyovers, such as Langar Houz, which have been repeatedly flagged as accident-prone, often lack regular audits or enforcement cameras, leaving them vulnerable to overspeeding and risky overtaking.
Between January and August 2025, GHMC data recorded more than 320 accidents within city limits, nearly one-third linked to high-speed violations on arterial and elevated roads. The Telangana Road Safety Authority has listed 20 black spots in Hyderabad, many showing a recurring pattern of crashes involving speeding two-wheelers and cars.
The study urges governments to move beyond enforcement-heavy responses and adopt structural solutions — such as protected lanes, better lighting, median barriers, and speed-reduction infrastructure in high-risk zones. “If you fix the system, you don’t have to keep fixing people,” the authors note.
Speeding & crashes infographics:
Hyderabad, May to September
· 2025 road accidents (till Sept): 4,112
· Deaths: 613
· Fatal crashes linked to speeding: 30–35% (est.)
· Common locations: Outer Ring Road, service roads, Shamirpet, LB Nagar, Nehru ORR, Gachibowli
· Notable cases:
o June: Biker killed at LB Nagar, overspeeding on curved flyover
o August: Two techies dead near Gachibowli; SUV hit median at high speed
(Sources: Hyderabad traffic police, Telangana state police accident logs)
