Maharashtra has 1,324 ‘black spots’ prone to accidents

Police personnel at the site where a concrete mixer overturned on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in January. Pics/Satej Shinde

Maharashtra transport commissioner Avinash Dhakne on Monday said that the department has identified 1,324 accident-prone ‘black spots' in the state, wherein they have taken permanent measures in 757 places, temporary measures in 499 places and action was not needed in 53 cases. The black spots have been identified on the basis of guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Police personnel manage traffic on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in Dahanu in January

The report that identified the spots stated that the reasons for accidents were poor quality of roads and improper design. Of the total 1,324 spots, 325 were on state highways, 510 on national highways maintained by the state Public Works Department, 370 on national highways maintained by the NHAI, 96 on urban roads and 23 on other roads.

There had been criticism over Maharashtra's Road Safety Month going for a toss amid two fatal accidents last week. With 11,452 deaths in 2020, Maharashtra is among the top three states with a high number of deaths in road accidents. Transport experts had suggested having a road safety commissioner to monitor road safety.

Dhakne said that earlier, there used to be brake testing of public transport vehicles before they entered a hilly region and ghats. The practise stopped after the volume of vehicles went up. "We will have to find a way to have a separate lane on the expressway for trucks to test their brakes before they enter ghats," he said.

Mishap on Monday
In an early morning accident on Monday, five people were killed when their vehicle collided with a bus in Ahmednagar district. The car jumped the road divider and hit the bus coming from the opposite direction. "After I found about the accident, I alerted the local RTO office. Investigations in the accident are going on," Dhakne said.