Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg has once again gained the spotlight after a gruesome incident occurred on Sunday, October 15, that took away lives of at least 12 people.
Now, it has come to light that a total of 1,282 accidents have taken place on the expressway so far ever since its open for traffic in December 2022. Out of the total accidents took place, nearly 52 were claimed to be fatal as on September.
Of these accidents, 67 vehicles involved have resulted in 135 deaths during this period.
Two major accidents caused 37 of these deaths. In one accident, a private AC sleeper bus caught fire after the drunk driver lost control in July, while on October 15, 12 people died and 23 others were injured, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) top official stated.
According to a latest data revealed by the MSRDC, in the nine months, nearly 48 lakh vehicles have plied on a 600-km stretch from Nagpur to Bharvir in Igatpuri.
It is been alleged that the accidents have taken place owing to the negligence of RTO officials. However, the officials denied it stating that expressway has no engineering defects and it is one the highways built with international road safety qualities.
They further asserted that the number of accidents on Samruddhi Mahamarg is fewer compared to other state highways.
As on July 2023, 855 accidents took place this year. Of which, 51 fatal accidents were recorded resulting in 106 fatalities.
Therefore, on August 23, 2023, Bombay High Court’s (HC) Nagpur bench issued a notice to the Maharashtra government and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) over a petition demanding temporary halt to traffic on the Samruddhi Expressway till proper safety measures are put in place.
In response to this, to prevent accidents caused by road hypnosis, the MSRDC has introduced various measures.
Driver fatigue, burst tyres and mechanical breakdowns — every aspect of motoring has been blamed for the high number of accidents. Approximately 44% of deaths caused by drivers of vehicles who dozed off at the wheel.
Reasons behind accidents:
Loss of control
Slipperiness
Tyre burst
Mechanical failure
Fire
Tailgating
Overspeeding
Rear collision
Recent Accidents on Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway:
On August 1, a girder machine collapsed during bridge work at Sarlambe in Shahapur taluka near Thane. As a result, 20 workers died and four to five other people were injured.
On July 12, around 2:30 am, a luxury bus collided with a trailer from behind near Aurangabad. On board there were 30 passengers, 19 people, including an 11-year-old boy were injured. The bus was going from Nagpur to Pune.
On July 1, on the expressway, 25 people lost their lives and 8 suffered injuries. Vidharba Travels bus caught fire near Buldhana district on the 701-kilometre-long expressway.
Three persons were killed after a car, which hit a road divider, caught fire in Maharashtra's Buldhana district on May 29.
On May 24, four persons were killed after their multi-utility vehicle (MUV) hit a divider on the Samruddhi Expressway in Aurangabad district.
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