Dinesh Kamath's news 'Accidents on highways worry the traffic department' that was published in Newsband

Accidents on highways worry the traffic department

By Dinesh Kamath

THANE: There is a rise in number of accidents that took place on highways touching Navi Mumbai in the year 2014. This is what the traffic police department has to say after referring to the statistics.

Navi Mumbai had recorded 1,365 accidents in 2013. In 2014 the number of accidents was 1,871.

A senior highway police officer says that the Mumbai-Pune Expressway passing through Navi Mumbai is becoming more and more prone to accidents and that something drastic has to be done to prevent these mishaps. The number of vehicles plying along this highway is huge. On this road, multi-axle vehicle cause most number of fatal accidents.

The roads of the highway are so wide that the motorists tend to speed up their vehicles the moment they arrive on this road and this leads to accidents – sometimes fatal ones.

An expert in matter of accidents said, “A number of factors contribute to the risk of collision, including vehicle design, speed of operation, road design, road environment, driver skill and/or impairment, and driver behavior. Worldwide, motor vehicle collisions lead to death and disability as well as financial costs to both society and the individuals involved.

Human factors in vehicle collisions include all factors related to drivers and other road users that may contribute to a collision. Examples include driver behavior, visual and auditory acuity, decision-making ability, and reaction speed.

Driver error, intoxication and other human factors contribute wholly or partly to major number of crashes.

The accidents are owing to many drivers showing overconfidence in their abilities. Nearly all drivers who had been in a crash did not believe themselves to be at fault. One survey of drivers reported that they thought the key elements of good driving were: controlling a car including a good awareness of the car's size and capabilities, reading and reacting to road conditions, weather, road signs and the environment and alertness, reading and anticipating the behavior of other drivers.

Although proficiency in these skills is taught and tested as part of the driving exam, a 'good' driver can still be at a high risk of crashing because the feeling of being confident in more and more challenging situations is experienced as evidence of driving ability, and that 'proven' ability reinforces the feelings of confidence. Confidence feeds itself and grows unchecked until something happens – a near-miss or an accident.”