KOCHI: Road accidents have killed many and left many others maimed. On Monday, road accidents claimed four people - two in Muvattupuzha and two in Angamaly. A Sabarimala pilgrim who met with an accident at Perumbavaoor is in a critical state. It is not always brash and drunk driving or signal hopping that leads to mishaps. Certain junctions in Kochi are accident prone. City Express takes a ride through some of these dangerous zonesTripunithuraNorth Fort Road-NH 85 Junction Near the North Fort bus stop: The junction is a potential death trap as vehicles speeding via the NH cannot see the vehicles rushing in from the North Fort Road. Accidents claimed two persons this year.Vaikkom RoadKannankulangara Junction: The slight bend on the Vaikkom road near the junction might seem harmless but has caused over 16 accidents last year. “As the bend is not prominent, vehicles coming from both directions tend to override to the next lane leading to fatal collisions,” locals say. Choorakkad stretch: The Vaikkom road turns very narrow as it reaches Choorakkad and the ‘S-shaped’ bend tends to confuse drivers into taking the other lane which can lead to head-on collisions.Valiyakulam stretch: Speeding vehicles on the Vaikkom road seldom see those coming from the byroads which have no sign boards.Patham Mile, Tripunithura: The spot has claimed five lives this year. The unnatural drop to either side of the road and the unscientifically-placed dividers are the causes for such a high death rate, according to locals.KakkanadA series of accidents were reported in Kakkanad recently. Six major spots have been identified as the highly vulnerable - Poojarivalavu, Judgemukku, Chittettukara-Thaikkavu Junction, Olimukal Junction, civil station and the state highway which passes in front of Sunrise Hospital. Poojarivalavu is said to be most precarious. Though the stretch is quite wide, accidents have become a common phenomenon resulting in many deaths. As far as Judgemukku is concerned, the curve is too slanting that vehicles coming from either sides of the road fail to see one another resulting in accidents. Confusing traffic signals are cited as the main reason for the recurring accidents at Olimukal Junction. The signal instructions are too confusing that vehicles break traffic rules quite often. The state highway which passes in front of the Sunrise Hospital and Civil Station is also accident prone. Though the authorities claim to have fixed damage signals, they are not functioning now.EdappallyA recent survey cites Edappally as the most accident prone area in the city. As many as 1,817 accidents were reported this year. Over 23 cases were reported in the Edappally-Anjumana region while 12 accidents happened on the Bypass area. Sub-Inspector P M Baiju said the majority of the accidents were caused either owing to drunk driving or negligence. “However, the number of accidents have come down from 3,374 in 2008 to 1,817 in 2011,” he said. Ill-lit medians are also a major cause. Defunct reflectors and dearth of pedestrian crossing are other reasons. This year, 44 persons were killed while crossing roads.AluvaLack of wide medians and slippery roads are the prime reasons of accidents in Aluva where 300 cases were reported this year. Beware of Pullinchodu, the medians on the National Highway are comparatively small and have no sign boards to help drivers slow down. At U-turns, the tail portion of vehicle juts out posing a danger to other vehicles on the National Highway. Heavy flow of traffic also triggers accidents. Kariyad: The ‘S’ shaped curve at Kariyad is dangerous. Vehicles skid on the narrow road.The two curves are death traps, especially at night. The speed breakers near the curves were removed as per court order.Kariyamparambu, under the Angamaly police station limits, has been identified as a potential accident-prone zone, especially on the road to Mundanoor from the NH where five died in accidents, ASI Rajeev said. With inputs from Namitha Venkat, Princy Alexander, Shalet Jimmy, Amritha K R and K J Francis Joy.
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