The 165-km-long expressway that connects international tourist destinations of Delhi and Agra has often surfaced in the news because of accidents. But the number of deaths due to accidents that occur on the bus expressway has been increasing every year and has touched its highest mark already in 2019.?
File Photo. BCCL
With a staggering total of 153 deaths so far this year, the Yamuna expressway has touched its highest toll ever since it was commissioned in 2012.?
It has now been revealed in a reply to an RTI that 145 people have lost their lives and 822 sustained injuries in 357 accidents till July 31 this year. Sources told The Times of India that eight more people have died in four accidents on the stretch till date.
FILE PHOTO. BCCL
The RTI was filed by lawyer and activist Kishan Chand Jain and the reply was furnished by officials of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA).
The Expressway Development Authority has also revealed that there has been a total of 963 deaths on the expressway since its inauguration in August 2012.
The RTI reply further notes that 1,239 accidents on the stretch were caused by speeding, 682 due to tyre bursts, 243 due to dense fog and 3,700 due to a host of other reasons.
FILE PHOTO. BCCL
¡°At a recent meeting, we had floated the idea to seize a vehicle for at least an hour at any toll plaza if it is found speeding or indulging in rash driving. However, it was turned down citing that no such provision is available under the Motor Vehicle Act. These measures can be brought in with a small amendment but the will to do so is missing among officials,¡± a senior government official was quoted as saying on conditions of anonymity in The Times of India.?
The RTI activist said that apart from other reasons, dozing off on wheels also contributes to a majority of accidents.?
FILE PHOTO. BCCL
Jain urged the government to introduce a law that makes it mandatory for long-distance drivers to take proper rest during the journey.?
¡°They should make either sleeping pods or subsidized motels available to such drivers along expressways and national highways,¡± he said.?