Page 56 - TT mag Oct-Nov -Digital

SMART MOBILITY 2018

As we look at it, if I have a two-lane Highway. They will have to provide for per the control of weights and measures
road with paved shoulder without a that feature before we allow an access. because if we do not keep that kind of
divided carriageway, it carries traffic up That is perhaps one way to put a control a sanctity of a weigh in motion bridge
to even 20,000 PCUs a day but ideally it on the emergence of larger number of measurement, then it is a challenge to
should not be carrying a traffic of about black spots in future as we go along. the technology.
15,000 PCUs. The moment we make However, analysis shows that the Will having an integrated road plan
it a divided carriageway, immediately accident is largely in terms of two involving States and Central government
the capacity goes to 40,000 PCUs and wheelers, it is largely the over-speeding will be more effective?
if you make it an access controlled and unabated speeds with which people
divided carriageway of four lanes, the go. In case of light motor vehicles, it While it makes a lot of sense to have an
carrying capacity goes to 80,000 PCUs. is again over-speeding, going beyond integrated plan, I think the states have to
That is how it makes the difference and the controllable systems. In case of the get into that mould of taking their own
increasingly the Ministry also has to take heavier vehicles, particularly the freight responsibilities. What has happened is
recourse to building of new National vehicles, my own assessment is that the not withstanding the transfer of 42%
Highways keeping in view these kinds of accidents are caused not because the of the divisible resources as per the last
growth parameters as they come along driver is not trained, not because the finance commission recommendations,
and also planning for a perspective of driver is unruly, because of fatigue and every state is trying to get more and
about 30 to 40 years. But we need to sleep while on the driving seat. more of the state roads declared as
look at the road accident data in the National Highways. So, there has to be
country as a matter of serious concern. Ultimately, it depends on a a very clear benchmarking on what is
We need to assess accidents taking combination of technology as well as supposed to be a national highway and
place due to road engineering defects maturity of the road users’ compliance what is supposed to be a state road.
or due to other reasons. to the rules of the road which are going It is important that we work on the
to play a definitive role in containing this NH with the corridor approach. They
More than the road engineering
defect, what really creates problems disturbing trend of the accidents and pass through multiple states; these
is the subsequent joining of arterial fatalities as they occur. I am sure that are economic corridors or passenger
road creating a black spot. There is a the temptation to go in for overloading corridors and these are passing through
requirement of creating interchanges of heavy vehicles would get contained the state capitals. The second part
whereby traffic can be regulated. We as increasingly the roads are going to be what we have found is, all these years,
are revisiting our access guidelines and equipped with more and more weigh in you rarely find a road which is a crow
putting some kind of a caveat that as motion devices and I would only request flight road because the road has been
on the date of completion of a national the Industry to implement that. constructed to connect destinations.
highway it is our responsibility to Even in terms of Ministry’s own So, if it is a 1000km road, it must
address all such inter-connectivities and regulations, when we have increased pass through connecting 20 major
the interchanges. But anything coming the loads limits, the permissible band destinations and it takes its curves
up subsequent to the completion of it is within 5%. The Industry also has to and shapes as it has to connect those
before, it will have to be at the cost of look at what intervals equipment would en-route destinations. So, the thinking
whosoever is seeking that access to the require calibration and re-calibration as is on, the plan is on

56 October-November ’18 / TrafficInfraTech www.trafficinfratech-com-500653.hostingersite.com