Kerala Road BLACK SPOT

Survey finds more than 200 'black spots' on roads in state
K P Sai Kiran, TNN | Sep 2, 2012, 12.46PM IST  The Times of India

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There are 216 spots on the roads in the state, which are highly prone to accidents, a joint survey by the motor vehicles department, PWD and police department has identified.

A joint assessment by the three departments for the Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA) has found that the maximum number of accident-prone stretches, called black spots, are in Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts. While there are 34 black spots in Alappuzha, 33 of them are in Ernakulam.
Places which have a history of at least three major accidents in a year have come under the category of black spots. (Major accidents are those in which there have been at least two fatalities)

"Though it was also proposed to man these black spots through the services of a uniformed policeman with a signal baton to check speeding vehicles passing through these stretches

from 3pm to 7pm, hardly anything was done," transport department sources told TOI.

"The KRSA had allotted Rs 4 crore to the PWD for initiating steps to reduce accidents at 50 critically accident-prone stretches, but most of them still are in the same condition," sources said.

Meanwhile, the accident spot where the oil tanker met with the mishap at Chala in Kannur on Monday did not figure in the list of black spots.

Interestingly, the motor vehicles department has admitted that the median at the spot where the oil tanker met with the accident was actually a dangerous spot and the median was unidentifiable to motorists at night. In the report sent by Kannur regional transport officer P P Babu to transport commissioner based on the accident on August 28, it has been said that though the reason for the accident was rash and negligent driving, the median was unidentifiable, especially during nights. The median was demolished following the accident.

"There is a median which could not be identified by drivers especially during night hours. It was also reported that there was a drizzle at that time. There were no proper road markings either," the report said.

The report also said that the road needs proper reflective road marking along both sides of roads, centre-line markings, marking of the median ahead and informatory boards.

"This will warn the drivers regarding the road so that such type of accidents can be averted," it said.

Number of black spots in each district

Thiruvananthapuram - 25,Kollam - 15,Pathanamthitta - 13,Alappuzha - 34

Kottayam - 8,Idukki - 5,Ernakulam - 33,Thrissur - 24,Palakkad - 6,
Malappuram - 9,Kozhikode - 26,Wayanad - 9,Kannur - 6,Kasargod - 4.