Hyderabad: Missing signboards at key intersections and flyovers in the city, has led to dangerous driving behaviour, say traffic experts. Commuters can often be seen getting on to the wrong route, and then driving on the wrong side to go back, experts say, adding that this causes traffic snarls and increases the threat of road accidents.
“We’re seeing an increase in wrong side driving incidents compared to the previous year, primarily due to confusion at unmarked intersections as well as increasing vehicles in the city,” said Vinod Kumar Kanumala, a traffic expert and founder of the Indian Federation of Road Safety.
In fact, many flyovers do not have signs indicating where the roads lead to at ingress points. This causes motorists to stop at the start of flyovers, say experts, resulting in traffic pile up.
Missing the correct turn, could also mean a loss of precious time for commuters travelling at peak hours. “I recently took a wrong turn at the Mindspace junction near IKEA because there was no proper signage. When I realised my mistake, I had to drive an extra four kilometres to reach my destination,” said Dhanush K, who commutes daily to the IT Corridor for work.
Citing the example of Lakdikapul to show how motorists inadvertently lose time and add distance to their commute, Kanumala said, “Two parallel roads seem like they’re going in the same direction, but using only one you can turn right towards Khairatabad. The lack of any signage here causes commuters to travel an additional two kilometres. Some two-wheelers speed in the wrong direction or even jump over the median recklessly.”
While acknowledging the lack of proper signage, deputy commissioner of police (Traffic 1), Hyderabad, Rahul Hegde said, “Signage must be installed as per the standards of the Indian Road Congress (IRC) for the convenience of commuters.”
Even though the onus of setting up signboards is on local municipalities, traffic police are now considering setting up signages themselves to mitigate wrong side driving and ease the commute for passengers. The cost of signboards for one lane of the road is an estimated ₹13,000. “We are mulling using the service charge levied on traffic challans to set up signages at important intersections and flyovers,” said DCP Hegde.
“We’re seeing an increase in wrong side driving incidents compared to the previous year, primarily due to confusion at unmarked intersections as well as increasing vehicles in the city,” said Vinod Kumar Kanumala, a traffic expert and founder of the Indian Federation of Road Safety.
In fact, many flyovers do not have signs indicating where the roads lead to at ingress points. This causes motorists to stop at the start of flyovers, say experts, resulting in traffic pile up.
Missing the correct turn, could also mean a loss of precious time for commuters travelling at peak hours. “I recently took a wrong turn at the Mindspace junction near IKEA because there was no proper signage. When I realised my mistake, I had to drive an extra four kilometres to reach my destination,” said Dhanush K, who commutes daily to the IT Corridor for work.
Citing the example of Lakdikapul to show how motorists inadvertently lose time and add distance to their commute, Kanumala said, “Two parallel roads seem like they’re going in the same direction, but using only one you can turn right towards Khairatabad. The lack of any signage here causes commuters to travel an additional two kilometres. Some two-wheelers speed in the wrong direction or even jump over the median recklessly.”
While acknowledging the lack of proper signage, deputy commissioner of police (Traffic 1), Hyderabad, Rahul Hegde said, “Signage must be installed as per the standards of the Indian Road Congress (IRC) for the convenience of commuters.”
Even though the onus of setting up signboards is on local municipalities, traffic police are now considering setting up signages themselves to mitigate wrong side driving and ease the commute for passengers. The cost of signboards for one lane of the road is an estimated ₹13,000. “We are mulling using the service charge levied on traffic challans to set up signages at important intersections and flyovers,” said DCP Hegde.
