Wells that is what the media has dubbed the Dwarka flyover...
And in the past few days there have been a spate of accidents on the flyover that connects Dwarka suburb to the rest of the city...And after 7 people have died in 6 days on this flyover...it does seem to justify the name...until you pause to think whether these accidents are cause due faulty construction of the flyover only.
Even media seems to be divided on the issue. While one of the TV channels lead a tirade against DDA, the Delhi Development Authority, which has built the flyover for making only 2 lanes on the flyover while another channel blamed it on speeding(which happens to be a more correct conclusion).
I lived in Dwarka before we shifted to this place and it was while we were there that the flyover was being built. The flyover was built over the heavily populated Palam village. They had demolish houses too close to the main road in Palam which was actually just a single road in each direction. So how is it DDA's fault that they could not get the state government to allow them to demolish more houses. They had to make it over the existing road...which is what happens on most flyovers.
The channel also blamed the DDA for not putting enough signboards to warn motorists about the turns. They also pointed out that there were no cat eyes at the edge of the roads on these turns. They now want the DDA to build speed breakers near the curve, thus indirectly agreeing to the fact that if the motorists slow down they will be be safe. Also, the last time I had visited Dwarka, there were cat eyes on the curves, though some of them might not have been working. But there are enough signboards warning motorists about the dangerous curves and telling them to slow down.
And when DDA has given the speed limit as 30 kmph on the flyover because of the curves, are they at fault if people don't follow them.
The media also blamed the DDA for building the side of the flyover which were not very high. Now if that media team has never seen a flyover before and don't realize the the sides are built of a standard height. Then how is it that they feel that only the walls of this particular flyover are low??
The second channel blames it on speeding, and in a innovative way of proving that driving at 50 kmph on the flyover is safe. One of their reporters drove on the flyover at a constant 50 kmph and did not come even close to skidding...That also proves that the accidents definately happened to bikers who were much above the speed limit...not just the one given by DDA for the flyover, but also the overall speed limit for Delhi.
Another channel laid out the blueprints of a lot of flyovers in Delhi and was busy telling viewers how many of them were unsafe and not correctly built...Well...should the Government break them all down??
And when there are so many accidents on straight streches of road...because of over speeding... And most of the vehicles being built these days...you don't even realize how fast the vehicle is going...a speed of 80-90 kph also seems like 50-60 kph. And if you drive at 50 kph in Delhi...which is very rare considering the number of traffic jams that occur in the city...you will soon realize that everyone(incl the autos) is overtaking your vehicle..And then most people feel ki jab koi speed limit nahi follow nahi kar raha to why should I??
You also need to see how beneficial it has been for the lakhs of people who stay in Dwarka.I still remember during our boards, we used to take a margin of an hour when going for the exam before the flyover was built.There was no surity of when the railway crossing (over which the flyover is built) would open.Now its a comfortable life...
I am not saying that only those bikers were at fault, but then if you over speed at any curve, you can skid and crash and the curves on the flyover are no different...thats the only conclusion I can draw from the whole incidents.
And in the past few days there have been a spate of accidents on the flyover that connects Dwarka suburb to the rest of the city...And after 7 people have died in 6 days on this flyover...it does seem to justify the name...until you pause to think whether these accidents are cause due faulty construction of the flyover only.
Even media seems to be divided on the issue. While one of the TV channels lead a tirade against DDA, the Delhi Development Authority, which has built the flyover for making only 2 lanes on the flyover while another channel blamed it on speeding(which happens to be a more correct conclusion).
I lived in Dwarka before we shifted to this place and it was while we were there that the flyover was being built. The flyover was built over the heavily populated Palam village. They had demolish houses too close to the main road in Palam which was actually just a single road in each direction. So how is it DDA's fault that they could not get the state government to allow them to demolish more houses. They had to make it over the existing road...which is what happens on most flyovers.
The channel also blamed the DDA for not putting enough signboards to warn motorists about the turns. They also pointed out that there were no cat eyes at the edge of the roads on these turns. They now want the DDA to build speed breakers near the curve, thus indirectly agreeing to the fact that if the motorists slow down they will be be safe. Also, the last time I had visited Dwarka, there were cat eyes on the curves, though some of them might not have been working. But there are enough signboards warning motorists about the dangerous curves and telling them to slow down.
And when DDA has given the speed limit as 30 kmph on the flyover because of the curves, are they at fault if people don't follow them.
The media also blamed the DDA for building the side of the flyover which were not very high. Now if that media team has never seen a flyover before and don't realize the the sides are built of a standard height. Then how is it that they feel that only the walls of this particular flyover are low??
The second channel blames it on speeding, and in a innovative way of proving that driving at 50 kmph on the flyover is safe. One of their reporters drove on the flyover at a constant 50 kmph and did not come even close to skidding...That also proves that the accidents definately happened to bikers who were much above the speed limit...not just the one given by DDA for the flyover, but also the overall speed limit for Delhi.
Another channel laid out the blueprints of a lot of flyovers in Delhi and was busy telling viewers how many of them were unsafe and not correctly built...Well...should the Government break them all down??
And when there are so many accidents on straight streches of road...because of over speeding... And most of the vehicles being built these days...you don't even realize how fast the vehicle is going...a speed of 80-90 kph also seems like 50-60 kph. And if you drive at 50 kph in Delhi...which is very rare considering the number of traffic jams that occur in the city...you will soon realize that everyone(incl the autos) is overtaking your vehicle..And then most people feel ki jab koi speed limit nahi follow nahi kar raha to why should I??
You also need to see how beneficial it has been for the lakhs of people who stay in Dwarka.I still remember during our boards, we used to take a margin of an hour when going for the exam before the flyover was built.There was no surity of when the railway crossing (over which the flyover is built) would open.Now its a comfortable life...
I am not saying that only those bikers were at fault, but then if you over speed at any curve, you can skid and crash and the curves on the flyover are no different...thats the only conclusion I can draw from the whole incidents.
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