24 Posts Destroyed

Vehicle Able to drive away undetected

No Injuries Reported
1st Accident
Gwalior- Morena Section

Fence Hit by TATA 407 Truck

5 Posts Damaged.
No Injury to Passengers
Minimal Damage to Vehicle

2nd Accident
Gwalior- Morena Section

 4 Posts Damaged
Vehicle able to drive away after accident
Vehicle did not fall into embankment
Fence fully operational even after hit !!!
3rd Accident
Gorakhpur Bypass

 5 Posts Damaged
No Crossover on Split Median Occurred
Vehicle was able to drive away undetected.
Fence Still Useable, even before maintenance
4th Accident
Pimpalgaon- Nasik- Ghonde

 3 Posts Damaged
Embankment was protected
Vehicle was able to drive away undetected.
Sufficient Tension Maintained, Fence still useable
5th Accident
Pimpalgaon- Nasik- Ghonde

Accident By 1900 kg Tata Safari.

Driver Account: Was Driving at 120-130 km/h under intoxication
Was Protected from going over on Split Median: Sheer Drop
Minimal Damage to Vehicle, Minor Scratches to Occupants
Tension Retained in Fence, Fence Still Usable
6th Accident
Pimpalgaon- Nasik- Ghonde

Accident at Night , Fence Not fully Installed.

Fence Still Performed Despite Not Being at Full Tension
Accident Appears to be by small vehicle.
Vehicle able to drive away from site.
7th Accident
Mumbai Pune Expressway

 20 MT Oil Tanker.
4 Posts Damaged
No Injuries !!!!!!
SuperficialDamage
8th Accident
Moradabad Bariely Expressway

11

METRO > 12.04.2013 > MUMBAI, www.mid-day.com

Drought takes
toll on sale of
tractors, bikes
Transport department officials say heavy
financial losses suffered by farmers have
prohibited them from purchasing vehicles
for commercial and personnel use,
resulting in a dip in registration

LIFESAVER:
The Brifen wire
rope safety
fence has been
installed by the
MSRDC on an
experimental
basis. The
fences would
be set up along
the entire
expressway if
they help curb
accidents

SHASHANK RAO

MSRDC INSTALLS
SAFETY FENCE TO CURB
MISHAPS ON E-WAY
Brifen wire rope safety fence installed
on 2.5-km-long stretch between 73 km
and 77 km mark on experimental basis;
experts say it can be installed on the
entire e-way to reduce fatal accidents
RANJEET JADHAV
ranjeet.jadhav@mid-day.com

TAKING serious note of the rising number of fatal accidents

on
the
Mumbai-Pune
Expressway, the Maharashtra
State Road Development
Corporation (MSRDC) recently
finished installation of Brifen
wire rope safety fence on a 2.5
km-long stretch. If the experiment proves successful, then
the safety fence would be
installed at other locations as
well. The fence was installed
between the 73 km and 77 km
stretch. While the installation
work commenced last month,
it concluded last week.
The decision to install the
safety fence was taken after
two Marathi actors lost their
lives in a mishap on the

He said that if the experiment proves successful, then

such fences should be installed
at other locations on the
expressway as well, and highway
police
must
fine
over-speeding motorists to curb
untoward incidents on the
expressway.
Commenting on the installation of the fence, another
expressway on December 24, transport expert Jitendra
Gupta said, We will have to
2012.
Transport Expert Sudhir wait and see how successful
Badami said, It is good to see the experiment turns out to be.
that the MSRDC has started Only after having proper
installing safety wire ropes on results, the decision to install
the expressway. Though these the fence at other locations on
ropes cant rule out the possi- the expressway should be
bility of an accident, they taken. If installed on the entire
surely reduce the scale of fatal- 95-km-stretch, without studying its efficacy, the fence would
ity.

It is good to see that the MSRDC

has started installing safety wire
ropes on the expressway. Though
these ropes cant rule out the
possibility of an accident, they
surely reduce the scale of fatality
TRANSPORT EXPERT SUDHIR BADAMI

be a sheer waste of public

money. Also, more reflectors
should be installed at other
locations on the expressway.

Additional care
Apart from installation of the
safety fence, the MSRDC decided
to
construct
an
ultra-modern truck terminus
on the expressway where drivers can halt and take rest. It has
been observed that most accidents happen when drivers feel
sleepy behind the wheel. The
MSRDC also decided to speed
up the work of setting up a
trauma centre, equipped with
an air ambulance facility, on
the Lonavala-Pune stretch of
the expressway. In addition,
signboards mentioning speed
limit and accident-prone areas
would also be installed along
the expressway and awareness
about slow driving on the
expressway would be imparted
at toll plazas.

shashank.rao@mid-day.com

DID YOU KNOW?

OFFICIALS of the State

Transport Department claimed
that apart from inducing agrarian crisis in the state, the
drought took its toll on the sale
and registration of vehicles too.
Explaining this equation,
sources from the department
claimed that heavy financial
losses induced by the drought
prohibited farmers from purchasing vehicles like tractors,
commercial and private vehicles, thus affecting the overall
sale and registration of vehicles
in the state.
Transport Commissioner V
N More said, Sale of commercial vehicles, especially in rural
areas, have been hit by drought.
Even the sale of motorcycles,
which is normally more in rural
areas, have come down.
In the financial year 2011-

Vidarbha and Marathwada

are the worst drought-hit
regions in the state.
Over 250 Mercedes and
BMWs were sold in
Aurangabad and the nearby
districts in 2010-11

Registrations
on Gudi Padwa
Tardeo RTO: 97
Andheri RTO: 427
Wadala RTO: 303

12, some 18.50 lakh vehicles

were registered in the state. But
the number dropped to 18.35
lakh for the bygone fiscal year.
Besides drought, economic
slowdown coupled with spiralling petrol and diesel prices
also hit the sale of vehicles hard.

A whopping irony
Though the sale of vehicles
dipped, earnings of the transport department have gone up.
RTOs across the state collectively surpassed the set target of
about Rs 4,200 crore by a whopping Rs 775 crore, which is a
growth of around 18 per cent.
Officials claimed that hike in
motor tax rates, especially on
high-end cars and SUVs running on petrol and diesel, led to
increase in the collection.

Sale of commercial vehicles,

especially in rural areas, have been
hit by drought. Even the sale of
motorcycles, which is normally more
in rural areas, have come down
TRANSPORT COMMISSIONER V N MORE

DID YOU KNOW?

Each of the Brifen ropes is
made of 21 carbon wires

DROUGHT-HIT: Officials of the State Transport Department said the

drought has affected sale of vehicles in the state. REPRESENTATION PIC