Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) J&K Traffic, T Namgyal attributed the highway accidents to the increasing volume of traffic on the highway and the rocky terrain of the road, saying it would take three to four years to “stabilize” the highway.
“Until then authorities can do very little to prevent fatal accidents especially on the treacherous stretch from Banihal to Chanderkote,” the ADGP.
Asked why authorities did not install crash barriers and reflectors as preventive measures, Namgyal said the installations were not possible in view of the continuous blasting of mountains and tunneling going on along the highway.
Until the highway was stabilized, he urged travelers to follow the advisories strictly for now to reduce the flow of vehicles on the highway and prevent massive traffic jams.
“People don’t follow the traffic advisory seriously, which is the main reason why there is a massive grid-lock on the highway, leading to overtaking on the stretch that is already too dangerous for one way traffic, hence leading to accidents,” he said.
He advised people to avoid travelling on the highway at night in view of the shooting stones from mountains which may not be visible during night hours.
As per a road safety expert and a RTI activist, “a lot of bad engineering and unnecessary barricades” on the highway were “major contributors” for causing the accidents.
“There are not enough ‘super elevations’ on the curves leading to the ‘un-banking roads’, hence turns on this highway are too much vulnerable,” he said.
The measures should have been taken before four laning of the highway was started in order to prevent the accidents.
