Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jun 5: Even though less number of vehicles are taking to interior city roads, village roads or highways, the speed of the vehicles has remained high. Because of excessive speeds, many accidents and loss of lives have happened. People rev up their engines and move with greater speeds in order to take advantage of relatively empty roads. Later, the drivers lose control over the vehicles, giving rise to avoidable accidents. Recent accidents at Padil, Pumpwell flyover and Adyar happened because of speeding. At the same time, violation of traffic rules is increasing. Three people riding two wheelers, movement without wearing helmets etc are increasing. It looks like it is free for all on the roads.

Because of the reduced number of vehicles on the roads, barricades have been set up at various locations in the city. Those visiting the city for urgent work get confused. In main roads, one side has been blocked with barricades and two-way traffic has been allowed on one side. Some riders have to move the barricades aside before they can move ahead.

In the morning, the vehicular traffic increases for essential purchases. In the evening, between 5 and 8 pm, a lot of vehicles move around. They are seen mainly in roads where the police are not present.

There is no light at the Padil underpass, which can cause accidents as visibility is affected. City police commissioner N Shashi Kumar said that traffic is allowed only in case of essential services and emergencies. He said that fines for offences like over speeding, non-wearing of helmets and traffic violations are fined on the basis of CCTV footage.