Noida, (28/12/2018): The Noida authority has identified five locations across the city to install tyre killers to prevent driving on the wrong side. A trial run has been planned at the Sector 76-74 crossing, where tyre killers will be installed in the next three days.
Driving on the wrong side is one of the most common traffic offences in the city that is also dangerous and has led to several accidents. The five locations have been identified after feedback from traffic constables.
Apart from the Sector 76-74 intersection, the authority will also install tyre killers at Sector 77 North Eye junction, Hoshiarpur U-turn, Sai temple U-turn in Sector 61, and near Sector 75 metro station.
“The signage informing people about this tool will be installed on Friday and the work will be completed in three days at one stretch. Driving on the wrong side has been a menace in the city and such offenders are often penalised. However, it is rampant and residents as well as authorities are consistently troubled by these miscreants,” Rajeev Tyagi, general manager of Noida authority, said.
Tyre killers are metal stripes installed on roads with sharp spikes on one side. For those driving on the right side, it would be a small bump, like a speed breaker on the road. However, for those driving on the wrong side, the spikes can puncture the tyres.
Pune was one of the first cities that installed such tyre killers in India, but these were soon removed. The tools became controversial after some accidents occurred due to vehicles losing balance from getting a flat tyre.
However, officials said that these may be effective in Noida as despite several steps taken earlier, including blocking unauthorized cuts and increasing e-challans, there has not been much change in driver behaviour.
“It is strange that unlike any other NCR city, in Noida people habitually drive on the wrong side. In some cases, even if the right turn is less than 500 metres away, people prefer to take the wrong side, especially two-wheelers. Since penalties have not been of much help, we hope the tyre killers will be a deterrent,” Anil Kumar Jha, superintendent of police (traffic), said.
Road safety experts said that driving on the wrong side is common in cities with less traffic density and relatively empty roads. Though Noida has heavy traffic, the driver behavior may be carried forward from the time when there was less traffic in the city.
Additionally, unlike Delhi that has high enforcement and Gurgaon that has a larger population of IT sector employees, Noida has a mixed population of IT employees as well as industrial labour from the lower socio-economic background.
“These people often procure driving licences easily without much training or awareness of traffic rules and penalties. It is important to train or educate drivers regularly and tell them the importance of traffic rules and how they are being dangerous for others as well as themselves. Along with penalties, there should be mandatory training session for traffic violators,” Dr Sewa Ram, professor of transport planning, School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), said.
