PANAJI
A study done by half-a-dozen students of a top business school has identified 20 blind spots across major highways and trunk routes between cities in Goa, many of which are responsible for the soaring road accidents of late.
The students of the Goa Institute of Management have also advised that as simple a measure as erecting signages could make these blind spots safer and contribute to arresting the soaring accident statistics and fatalities on Goan roads.
Guided by faculty member Prof Nandakumar Mekoth, the six students including Aryamaan Goel, Ayush Gupta, Chahat, Bhavik Mirashi, Dhaval Agarwal and Gobind Mutreja chose road safety as their subject, moved by a spate of recent accidents, most of which were said to be for reasons such as human irresponsibility, poor infrastructure, poor visibility of traffic signs and stray animals on the roadways.
As part of their work, the team of six students interacted with officials of the Goa Police's Traffic Cell and a number of locals from the areas where they identified the blind spots.
Along the NH66s on the Panaji-Mapusa trunk route, the study identified lack of proper dividers, intersection of service roads with the highway without any signages and traffic signals erected at some spots are themselves blind spots and not visible to drivers.
At the Old Goa-Merces junction circle, where 10 lanes of national highways intersect, the study again identifies lack of signage and road markings as the root cause of confusion and chaos.
In Ponda, at the Opa junction, the researchers have zeroed in on "too many pot-holes and sharp blind turns as major threats to safety of vehicle users, especially two-wheeler riders.
Along the Kundaim-Cuncoliem slope, the study calls it a "hazardous location" and notes that 24 accidents occurred along this stretch last year alone, due to a sudden turn and a dangerous angle of banking.
Most of these accidents occurred at nightly hours suggesting bad illumination as a contributing factor for the mishaps. The study advises restructuring of the road here and erection of a traffic signal.
At the Binani factory location in Colvale, the study points out that the service lane abruptly intersects with the National Highway 66 and suggests that traffic police personnel be stationed here.
Along the Farmagudi-Dhavali bypass, the study has identified a sharp turn along the bypass as the cause of many accidents. It said this road has a problematic structure, such as being steep and on a curve and suggests a correction of the angle of banking.
Other blind sports identified by the study include the GVM circle, at Ponda, Redkar Hospital at Dhargal, Borim bridge circle, Arlem bypass to Nuvem, NH 66 service lane leading to Rajbag, Canacona, at Calangute near Palmarina Resort and at the Dolphin Circle near St Alex Church, the underpass at NH66 towards Mopa Airport and the holy cross shrine at Bambolim.
