Widened Kalka-Shimla highway witnessing more traffic, mishaps
Mishaps are occurring frequently on the four-lane Kalka-Shimla national highway in Solan district. In the latest incident, 30 passengers were injured, six of them grievously, when an Uttarakhand depot bus overturned near Kandaghat last week while trying to overtake another vehicle. Earlier, four vehicles, including two multi-axle trucks, had overturned on this highway near Solan this week.
142 accidents in Solan
- The widening of the Kalka-Shimla highway to four lanes has led to rise in traffic and more accidents in Solan
- The police data reveal that 142 accidents have taken place in Solan this year, most of them on the Shimla highway
- As many as 26 persons have lost their lives while 240 were injured in these accidents
- The district's accident severity has registered a significant rise, from 28.4 per cent in 2021 to 30.34 per cent in 2022
The data secured from the Police Department reveal that 142 accidents have taken place in Solan this year, most of them on the highway. As many as 26 people had lost their lives while 240 were injured in these accidents.
The district’s accident severity, which is a key indicator to monitor road mishaps, has registered a steep rise in the past few years. It is a measure of the number of persons killed per 100 accidents. From 28.4 per cent in 2021, it increased to 30.34 per cent in 2022, as per the data obtained from the Transport Department.
Furthermore, a comparison of the data from 2019 to 2022 reveals that death per lakh population rate was 58 per cent in Solan, which was considered quite high.
The widening of the highway to four lanes has led to an exponential rise in the volume of vehicular traffic, leading to more accidents as well. “A motorist is often buoyed to see a wide four-lane road after overcoming traffic snarls. To make up for the time lost, he tends to drive at a high speed, often leading to accidents,” says a highway traffic expert.
He added that sharp bends also lead to accidents when motorists driving at a high speed try to overtake other vehicles and end up skidding into a gorge. Such accidents often cause grievous injuries to people.
The highway is designed to handle a speed of 60 km per hour with 40 km per hour being the safe limit, as per the code of the Indian Roads Congress, which governs road construction work.
While over-speeding is the main reason behind highway accidents, violation of traffic rules like driving on the wrong side to save fuel, drunken driving and the use of mobile phones while driving contribute to the accidents, says SP, Solan, Gaurav Singh. He adds that more accidents occur on the highway in the district than on other roads.
