Mumbai-Pune Expressway Road Safety Survey...

SUBMITTED BY

JP RESEARCH INDIA PVT. LTD.

#377, SECTOR 24, LOKMANYA TILAK ROAD

NIGDI PRADHIKARAN, PUNE – 411 044. MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

SUBMITTED TO

SUPPORTED BY

June 22, 2015

Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Road Safety Survey Report

SaveLIFE Foundation | JP Research India Pvt. Ltd. | Mumbai-Pune Expressway Road Safety Survey Report

1

Mumbai–Pune Expressway

Road Safety Survey Report

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 2

OBJECTIVE OF THIS REPORT.............................................................................................. 2

ABOUT SAVELIFE FOUNDATION ........................................................................................ 5

ABOUT JP RESEARCH INDIA .............................................................................................. 5

METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................. 6

VIDEO SURVEY ............................................................................................................. 6

DETERMINATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE FACTORS INFLUENCING ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES .................... 7

VIDEO ANALYSIS AND DATA CODING ................................................................................... 9

CALCULATION OF BENEFIT TO COST RATIO OF RECOMMENDED SAFETY MEASURES ........................... 10

RESULTS ....................................................................................................................... 13

FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE FACTORS .................................................... 14

1. NARROW/NO SHOULDER ....................................................................................... 14

2. ROADSIDE/MEDIAN CONCRETE STRUCTURE .................................................................. 15

3. ROADSIDE STEEP SLOPE/DROP-OFFS ........................................................................... 16

4. POOR/INEFFECTIVE ROAD SIGNAGE ............................................................................ 17

5. SHARP ROAD CURVATURE ........................................................................................ 18

6. GAPS-IN-MEDIAN .................................................................................................. 19

7. UNGUARDED OVERHEAD BRIDGE PILLARS ..................................................................... 20

8. UNGUARDED BRIDGE/JERSEY WALL ............................................................................ 22

9. UNGUARDED UNDERPASSES ...................................................................................... 22

10. ENTRY/EXIT ROAD ............................................................................................ 23

11. DRIVER VISION OBSTRUCTION DUE TO PLANTATION ..................................................... 24

12. ROADSIDE TREES ............................................................................................... 25

13. CURB STONES ................................................................................................... 27

14. GUARDRAIL END TAPER ....................................................................................... 27

15. FLOWER POTS IN THE MEDIAN ............................................................................... 28

OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY MEASURES THAT CAN HELP: .................................................... 30

SUMMARY OF RESULTS ................................................................................................... 31

POST-CRASH INFRASTRUCTURE ON THE MUMBAI-PUNE EXPRESSWAY .............................................. 33

LOCATION OF TRAFFIC AID POSTS, AMBULANCES AND HOSPITALS ................................................ 33

CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................... 36

REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 38

SaveLIFE Foundation | JP Research India Pvt. Ltd. | Mumbai-Pune Expressway Road Safety Survey Report 2

Introduction The Mumbai–Pune Expressway is a controlled-access highway that connects Mumbai, the

commercial capital of India, to the neighboring city of Pune, an educational and information

technology hub. This divided 6-lane roadway is an alternative to the old Mumbai–Pune highway

and helps in reducing travel time between the two cities. It has a speed limit of 80 km/h along

most parts of the stretch. Officially two-wheelers and three-wheelers are not permitted to use

most parts of the expressway. Common vehicle types plying on the expressway are cars, trucks

and buses. The expressway is 94.6 km long and witnesses a large number of traffic crashes,

fatalities and serious injuries.

SaveLIFE Foundation approached JPRI to conduct a road safety survey of the Mumbai-Pune

Expressway to identify infrastructure factors affecting the safety of road users along the whole

length of the expressway, assess the potential safety risk to road users and to determine the

effective infrastructure safety counter-measures that can be put in place. In addition to the

determination of the infrastructure safety measures, it was mutually decided to create a “Benefit

to Cost Ratio” (BCR) analysis of each infrastructure safety measure which will help prioritize their

implementation based on the maximum number of lives that can be saved from the available

budget.

SaveLIFE Foundation also requested for the location of traffic aid posts and all the hospitals in the

vicinity of the expressway who attend to the accidents and the victims involved.

Objective of this report

The following is the objective of this report:

1. To identify the infrastructure factors influencing accidents and injuries occurring on the

Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

2. To quantify the occurrence of these infrastructure factors along the entire stretch of the

Mumbai-Pune Expressway in terms of counts or stretch of kilometers as applicable.

3. To determine suitable safety measures that can mitigate the effects of these infrastructure

factors, thereby reducing their influence on accidents and injuries.

4. To prioritize the implementation of the safety measures based on a Benefit to Cost Ratio

(BCR) Analysis.

5. To identify the location of ambulances, Traffic Aid Posts (TAPs) and hospitals on or near

the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

The following sections describe the methodology, results and conclusions of this study.


3

About SaveLIFE Foundation

SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF) is an independent, non-profit non-governmental organization committed to improving road safety and emergency medical care across India. SLF combines innovative on-ground interventions with advocacy for stronger national level policies to establish a sustainable framework for Road Safety and Emergency Medical Care.

To achieve its objectives, SLF operates in two broad areas,

1. CRASH PREVENTION

2. POST-CRASH RESPONSE

In both of the above areas, SLF’s model includes national policy-making support, as well as

grassroots interventions. In the recent past, SLF has also used strategic legal interventions to

ensure safer roads for all.

Initiatives in Crash Prevention

Advocating for and supporting the development of a comprehensive National Road Safety Law including an effective enforcement mechanism for the same.

Implementation of recent policy breakthrough such as the ban on trucks carrying protruding rods.

Anticipatory Driving and Accident Prevention Training (ADAPT) program: Our flagship program that trains high-risk drivers in techniques required to anticipate and prevent road accidents. This is a travelling program and can be conducted by SLF anywhere in the country.

Zero Fatality Corridor: Implementing a 360 degree solution across the 4E’s of road safety; Engineering, Enforcement, Emergency Care and Education to reduce the high number of road crash deaths on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway from an annual average of 140 to 0 over the next four years.

Initiatives in Post-Crash Response

Advocating for the “Right to Emergency Care” including reliable ambulatory care and early advanced in-hospital care.

Implementation of recent policy breakthrough such as Supreme Court judgement instituting a nation-wide policy for protection of Good Samaritans who assist the injured on the roads.

Jeevan Rakshak program: Training police personnel and citizen volunteers to create a network of medical first-responders to assist injured victims on the road. This is a travelling program and can be conducted by SLF anywhere in the country.

Providing victims and families detailed resources and information on treatment, rehabilitation and compensation.

SLF Impact

Secured a legally binding nationwide policy for protection of Good Samaritans through

the Supreme Court of India, expected to save over 70,000 lives annually.


Successfully convinced Government of India to introduce a comprehensive National Road

Safety Law. Invited by the Government to support the development of the new law.

Secured ban on trucks from carrying protruding rods, expected to save over 9000 lives

annually.

Over 8,000 SLF trained first-responders on the ground across Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand,

Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Achieved 30% reduction in road crash deaths in Delhi between 2010 and 2015 through

a strategic partnership with Delhi Police.

Successfully convinced Ministry of Home Affairs to direct all Police departments across

India to train their first responders in Basic Trauma Care.

Successfully trained over 2,000 high-risk commercial drivers in Anticipatory Driving and

Accident Prevention Techniques.

Awards and Recognition

1. Featured by Time Magazine, 2015

2. Conferred the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award 2014

3. Conferred the NGO of the Year 2014 by Rockefeller Foundation, EdelGive Foundation

and Resource Alliance

4. Featured at the Giving Pledge, a collective of global philanthropists

5. Featured on Satyamev Jayate, a TV show hosted by actor Aamir Khan

6. Awarded membership of the Clinton Global Initiative 2014

7. Awarded the Ashoka Fellowship 2013

8. Appointed full-voting member of the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety (2013)

9. Awarded the Echoing Green Fellowship 2012

10. Winner of the prestigious Rolex Award for Enterprise 2010

Contact:

E-Mail: [email protected]

Website: www.savelifefoundation.org

Head Office:

SaveLIFE Foundation

D-10, First Floor, Nizamuddin East,

New Delhi – 110 013

Delhi, India.

Phone: +91-11-41091911

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.savelifefoundation.org/


5

About JP Research India

JP Research India Pvt Ltd is a safety research firm dedicated to the business of automotive crash

data collection and analysis. The company, a fully owned subsidiary of JP Research, Inc., is a

forerunner in road safety research and has undertaken pioneering on-scene accident

investigation and in-depth data collection projects aimed at scientifically understanding and

mitigating road accident fatalities in India.

Accident research has proven to be the best way to understand the characteristics of real-world

road traffic crashes. Countries such as the USA, UK, Germany and Japan routinely use the results

of such research to significantly reduce the number of road traffic fatalities in their countries. The

fact that India has been losing approximately 150,000 lives on its roads every year makes it

imperative that we, too, conduct this kind of research to identify and then take swift steps to

address the key factors influencing the high traffic injury and mortality rate in our country.

JP Research India is experienced in using accident research methodologies developed in other

nations and customizing these to suit India’s unique traffic conditions. After conducting

numerous studies and on-site crash research projects on Indian roads, JP Research India has

developed its own India-specific crash data collection forms, a methodology for conducting site

and vehicle crash investigations in the inimitable Indian traffic environment, and a searchable

database of in-depth accident data. With the learning and experience from crash data, JP Research

India also conducts road safety audits, assessments and surveys and use crash data, speed data,

traffic volume counts and any other baseline data required to help stakeholders in data-driven

decision making. In addition, the company’s experts offer training in all of these areas, for those

who would prefer to perform their own data collection and analysis.

At JP Research India, our overriding objective is to understand Indian roads, traffic and road users

in ways that can be used to save lives: ours and yours.

Contact:

E-Mail: [email protected]

Website: www.jpresearchindia.com

Head Office:

JP RESEARCH INDIA PVT LTD

583/1,1st Floor, Sri Kumaran Salai,

Civil Aerodrome Post, Avinashi Road,

Coimbatore - 641 014

Tamil Nadu, India.

Phone: +91-422-4400100

Pune Branch Office:

JP RESEARCH INDIA PVT. LTD.

#377, Sector 24, Lokmanya Tilak Road,

Nigdi Pradhikaran,

Pune – 411 044

Maharashtra, India.

Phone: +91-20-27654465

http://www.jpresearch.com/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.jpresearchindia.com/


Methodology

JPRI researchers used the following methodology for this project:

1. Video survey

2. Determination of infrastructure factors

3. Data Coding and Analysis

4. Calculation of Benefit to Cost Ratio of recommended safety measures

Video survey

The first activity was the video survey of the whole stretch of the expressway in both directions.

The video survey was done for day-time and night-time conditions in order to identify the road

safety hazards from the point of view of a vehicle driver. Two cameras were used for the video

survey. One camera was fixed to the windshield and another camera was installed using a tripod.

FIGURE 1: IN-VEHICLE CAMERA SETUP FOR VIDEO SURVEY

The two cameras took videos from two views:

1. The primary camera facing the front, to cover the roadway and the median on the right.

2. The secondary camera facing the left, to cover the roadside features such as slopes, drop-

offs, ditches, trees, etc. found on the left side of the roadway.


7

After the video survey, the researchers then clipped the video for each km of the expressway and

stored it in a power point file. Each slide shows the video of one kilometer in one direction during

day time and night time. These videos were used for analysis of each kilometer of the expressway.

Determination of infrastructure factors influencing accidents and injuries

JPRI specializes in conducting on-site crash investigations for in-depth scientific accident data

collection and analysis. Since October 2012, JPRI has been conducting scientific crash

investigations on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway with the co-operation of the Maharashtra State

Highway Police and supported by the Road Accident Sampling System – India (RASSI) Consortium

[1]. These scientific crash investigations are aimed at understanding accidents and the resulting

injuries better, identifying the factors that influence them and determine solutions that can help

mitigate them. The research findings are published as annual reports and the same is provided to

the Maharashtra State Highway Police and is also available for download from the RASSI website

(www.rassi.in).

Road traffic accidents are primarily influenced by three main factors:

Human (usually drivers and vehicle occupants, but also pedestrians and cyclists)

Vehicle

Infrastructure (roadway and the environment)

Typically, accidents are analyzed for each of the above factors, and the accident is finalized as a

result of a problem with only one of these factors. This type of analysis results in an

overrepresentation of human failures and tends to identify driver errors as the main contributors

to road traffic accidents. Thus, the commonly repeated wisdom – “Driver error is the cause of over

90% of accidents”.

The problem with this type of analysis is the assumption that the driver initiated the accident and

hence all responsibility lies with him/her. Influencing factors which are vehicle-related and

infrastructure-related are often not accounted for, even though they are an inseparable part of

the whole accident.

“The conventional approach”

“JPRI approach”

Venn diagram analysis

FIGURE 2: APPROACH FOR ANALYZING ACCIDENT CAUSES

HUMAN ACCIDENT

HUMAN VEHICLE INFRASTRUCTURE

OR OR

http://www.rassi.in/


Hence, it is important to determine all the possible contributing factors (human, vehicle and

infrastructure) leading to that accident because each of these factors can influence an accident

independently or as a combination. This kind of analysis gives a broader perspective and can help

identify vehicle and infrastructure related solutions that can prevent accidents and mitigate

injuries in spite of human errors.

Based on the above approach, through scientific crash investigations, JPRI studied 372 accidents

that occurred on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway between October 2012 and October 2014. The

results of this analysis were reported in December 2014 [2] and identifies the following fifteen

infrastructure factors that influence the occurrence of accidents and injuries on the Mumbai-Pune

Expressway.

TABLE 1: LIST OF INFRASTRUCTURE FACTORS LISTED IN DESCENDING ORDER OF THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS,

FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES INFLUENCED.

S. No Contributing factor No. of

Fatal Victims (Average per year)

No. of Injured Victims

(Average per year)

1 Narrow/No shoulder 19 66

2 Roadside/Median concrete structure 9 24

3 Poor/ineffective road signage 6 17

4 Roadside steep slope/drop-off 5 24

5 Sharp road curvature 5 18

6 Unguarded bridge pillar 4 2

7 Unguarded Bridge/Jersey wall 3 5

8 Gaps-in-median 2 16

9 Unguarded underpass 2 5

10 Entry/Exit road 2 1

11 Driver vision obstruction 1 4

12 Roadside trees 1 2

13 Curb stones 0 6

14 Guardrail end taper 0 2

15 Flower pots in the median 0 1

Each of these factors and their influence on accidents and injuries is explained in the results section

of the report. It must be noted that these factors may also act in combination in an accident. For e.g.

a car driver unable to see a vehicle ahead of him/her due to a vision obstruction induced by the

curvature of the road, drives off the road into the median in order to avoid a collision with the vehicle

ahead, and impacts a concrete structure in the median. In this case, vision obstruction (due to a

curved road) and the concrete structure in the median both act as a contributing infrastructure

factor for the occurrence of the accident and the resulting injuries.


9

The above list of infrastructure factors, which were identified as influencing the occurrence of

accidents and injuries on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, were then used as the basis for the video

analysis and coding form.

Video analysis and data coding

Researchers then analyzed the video data for every kilometer of each stretch to identify the

occurrence of each of the contributing factors in that stretch. The occurrence of each contributing

factor was either computed as counts or were measured in kilometers (length) against each

kilometer section under analysis.

The data thus computed was tabulated into an excel sheet for further analysis. The snapshot of

the coding sheet has been provided below. The infrastructure factors and their locations (with

pictures) has been provided in Appendix A.

FIGURE 3: SCREENSHOT OF THE CODING SHEET USED BY RESEARCHERS TO CODE THE OCCURRENCE OF THE

INFRASTRUCTURE FACTORS BY THE KILOMETER SECTION OF THE EXPRESSWAY.

Calculat ion of Benefit to Cost Ratio of recommended safety measures

Please note that JPRI is a private firm involved in scientific accident research. Transport and

infrastructure economics or infrastructure building is not the core expertise of JPRI. JPRI researchers

have tried to determine the cost of the safety measures and calculations based on estimates

available/provided to them during the time of creation of this report. JPRI researchers suggest that

the concerned stakeholders and implementing agencies should also recheck the costs and

calculations to come up with a more realistic BCR prior to the implementation of these safety

measures.

Value of a fatal ity and a serious injury in India

To determine the cost of a fatality and of a serious injury, researchers used the Rule of Thumb

approach [3]. This approach is also used by the International Road Assessment Programme

(iRAP), UK for their road safety assessments and risk ratings.

As per this approach:

Value of a fatality = 70 x GDP per capita


Value of a serious injury = 17 x GDP per capita

The GDP per capita for India (2013) has been considered as USD 1498.87 [4]. The conversion

factor for USD into INR was taken as USD 1 = INR 64 as this was the dollar rate on 18th June, 2015.

Based on the above approach, the researchers arrived at the following costs for a fatality and for

a serious injury in India:

Value of a fatality (India) = INR 67,14,937.60

Value of a serious injury (India) = INR 16,30,770.56

“Expected Benefit” of treating the infrastructure factors

The above values of a fatality and a serious injury have been used to determine the total cost of

fatalities and serious injuries influenced by the infrastructure factors. If a safety feature is

implemented to reduce the influence of these infrastructure factors on fatalities and serious

injuries, then this total cost gives an idea of the financial gain that can be achieved through lives

saved and injuries mitigated. Hence, this total cost has been termed as “EXPECTED BENEFIT”.

The “EXPECTED BENEFIT” for each infrastructure factor has been listed in the below table as per

the descending order of the total cost of fatalities/serious injuries.

TABLE 2 LIST OF INFRASTRUCTURE FACTORS IN DECREASING ORDER OF EXPECTED BENEFIT.

S. No Infrastructure factor No. of

Fatal Victims (Average per year)

No. of Injured Victims

(Average per year)

Total cost of fatalities / serious injuries

(in INR) EXPECTED BENEFIT

1 Narrow/No shoulder 19 66 23,52,14,671

2 Roadside/Median concrete structure 9 24 9,95,72,932

3 Roadside steep slope/drop-off 5 24 7,27,13,181

4 Poor/ineffective road signage 6 17 6,80,12,725

5 Sharp road curvature 5 18 6,29,28,558

6 Gaps-in-median 2 16 3,95,22,204

7 Unguarded bridge pillars 4 2 3,01,21,292

8 Unguarded Bridge/Jersey wall 3 5 2,82,98,666

9 Unguarded underpasses 2 5 2,15,83,728

10 Entry/Exit road 2 1 1,50,60,646

11 Driver vision obstruction 1 4 1,32,38,020

12 Roadside trees 1 2 99,76,479

13 Curb stones 0 6 97,84,623

14 Guardrail end taper 0 2 32,61,541

15 Flower pots in the median 0 1 16,30,771


11

Recommended safety measures

Each of these infrastructure factors are not new to the motoring world. These factors have

influenced accidents worldwide and many countries have improvised safety solutions to counter

these factors. Many of these solutions have been identified with the help of iRAP’s website called

“iRAP Toolkit” [5].

Cost of recommended safety measures

Researchers contacted various agencies and individuals involved or associated in the installation

of road safety devices and road infrastructure development to find out the cost of the various

safety measures. The cost of the safety measures determined include the cost of installation of the

safety measures and the associated material and labour costs. This is a one-time cost. It is

assumed that the service life of each safety measure is 10 years. In addition, an annual

maintenance cost has been considered at the rate of 10% of the cost of installation. In case of

infrastructure factors that need to be removed (such as bushes, curb stones, etc.), a labour cost of

INR 500 per person per day has been considered. The costing sheet has been provided in

Appendix B.

Calculat ion of Benefit to Cost Ratio (B CR)

To assess each of the recommended safety measures and compare their effectiveness based on

the cost of implementing them, and the fatalities and serious injuries that could be saved

(EXPECTED BENEFIT), researchers used a Benefit to Cost Ratio (BCR) calculation.

The “Benefit” is based on the expected reduction of fatalities and injuries and the resulting cost

savings, while the “Cost” is based on the cost of installation of the safety measure and the

associated Annual Maintenance Cost (AMC) at the rate of 10% of the cost of installation.

The following are the assumptions made in the calculation of BCR:

1. It is assumed that in the first year only 50% of reduction in fatalities and serious injuries

can be achieved. This is considering that installation/implementation will take time and

may need some refinements/improvements for effectiveness.

2. In the subsequent years, the reduction in fatalities and serious injuries directly influenced

as a result of these infrastructure factors is expected to be about 80% owing to

circumstances beyond the influence of these factors (such as impact speed, exceeding the

design speed, lack of seatbelt use, etc.)

The following formulae have been used to determine the BCR for the recommended safety

measures.

𝑩𝑪𝑹 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 = 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐵𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑡 × 50%

𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 + 𝐴𝑀𝐶 (𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟)

𝑩𝑪𝑹 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓(𝒔) = 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐵𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑡 × 80%

𝐴𝑀𝐶 (𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟)

Researchers used the above formulae to determine the BCR for each infrastructure factor and the

associated safety measure to reduce the influence of the infrastructure factor on fatalities and

serious injuries.


From the above formulae it can be implied that a BCR equal to or greater than 1.0 indicates

that the “Benefit” from the safety measure is equal to or greater than the “Cost” of the safety

measure for that year.

The following sections describe the results of the video analysis, explain each infrastructure

factor and its influence on accidents and injuries, and determine the BCR for each of them.


13

Results

Based on the video analysis and coding, the frequency of the occurrence of each of the fifteen

infrastructure factors along the whole stretch have been tabulated below. It is to be noted that

the summation is for the whole stretch and it includes the occurrence of each factor in both the

travel directions and on both sides of the roadway.

Frequency of occurrence of infrastructure factors

The infrastructure factors based on counts of their occurrence are tabulated below.

TABLE 3 INFRASTRUCTURE FACTORS AND THE COUNT OF THEIR OCCURRENCE IN THE MUMBAI-PUNE EXPRESSWAY.

S. No Contributing factor Frequency Frequency Type

1 Narrow/No shoulder 218.09 Distance (km)

2 Roadside/Median concrete structure 275.00 Count

3 Roadside steep slope/drop-off 79.14 Distance (km)

4 Poor/ineffective road signage 20.00 Count

5 Sharp road curvatures 162.00 Count

6 Gaps-in-median 88.00 Count

7 Unguarded overhead bridge pillars 122.00 Count

8 Unguarded Bridge/Jersey wall 166.00 Count

9 Unguarded Underpasses 96.00 Count

10 Entry/Exit road 76.00 Count

11 Driver vision obstruction 37.00 Count

12 Roadside trees 21.37 Distance (km)

13 Curb stones 67.44 Distance (km)

14 Guardrail end taper 169.00 Count

15 Flower pots in the median 14.24 Distance (km)

Based on already available solutions applied around the world for similar safety issues,

researchers determined the safety measures that can be recommended for reducing the effects of

these infrastructure factors. The cost of installation of these safety measures were determined

based on enquiries with individuals and agencies involved in such road safety work.

The following section describes each infrastructure factor and the recommended safety measure.

Based on the cost of installations determined by the researchers, the Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR)

computed for each factor is also provided.


1. Narrow/No Shoulder

Details of all the narrow/no shoulder locations are provided in Appendix A, page 1.

EXPECTED BENEFIT INR 23.52 crores

Number of fatal victims: 19 ; Number of serious victims: 66

COST OF SAFETY MEASURE INR 87.24 crores

Safety measure: Widening of shoulders (where possible)

BCR 1st year: 0.12 Subsequent Year(s): 2.16

The “shoulder” is an area at the side of a road that provides vehicles with space for emergency

stopping without affecting the traffic. The expressway has long sections of road with no shoulders

(ghat section), while in other sections the shoulders are wide only on the left side of the road way

and are narrow on the median side of the roadway.

NO SHOULDER NARROW SHOULDER

Parked truck on a road section with no shoulder. Another truck travelling in the left-most lane rear ended this truck, resulting in fatalities and serious injuries.

Truck driver wanting to park his truck on the shoulder did not notice the narrowing shoulder. Truck toppled over to the left. Fortunately, occupants were not injured.

FIGURE 4: CRASHES INFLUENCED BY NARROW/NO SHOULDERS

Safety measures that can mit igate accidents and injuries

On wide highways, it is preferable to have shoulders on both sides of the roadway (in the median

as well as at roadside) for additional safety. At places where wide median is available on the

expressway, it can be converted to a shoulder. To prevent misuse of the shoulders by drivers who

may use them as travel lanes, longitudinal rumble strips can be installed throughout the edge of

the roadway on the shoulders.

;

FIGURE 5: SHOULDERS PROVIDED ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROADWAY (ROAD SIDE AND MEDIAN SIDE) WITH

CONTINUOUS RUMBLE STRIPS, TO PREVENT USE OF SHOULDERS AS REGULAR TRAVEL LANES


15

2. Roadside/median concrete structure

Details of all the roadside/median concrete structure locations are provided in Appendix A, page

117.




Safety Measure: Install impact attenuators (water/sand filled drums)


At many locations on expressway, concrete structures have been constructed in the median and at road sides. These concrete structures might be serving some dedicated purpose but when vehicles go off the road and impact them, these rigid structures cause high deceleration rates resulting in intensive damage to vehicles and fatal or serious injuries to the occupants.

FIGURE 6: EXPRESSWAY CRASHES WITH CONCRETE STRUCTURES


Impact attenuators placed in front of the concrete structures can reduce the crash severity by

decreasing the rate of deceleration of the vehicle. They can be made of metal structures or can be

engineered barrels of water or sand that can withstand an impact with a vehicle and minimize

the injury to the vehicle occupants.

FIGURE 7: P ICTURES OF IMPACT ATTENUATORS – METAL (LEFT) AND SAND/WATER- FILLED BARRELS (RIGHT).


3. Roadside steep slope/drop-offs

Details of all the roadside steep slope/drop-off locations are provided in Appendix A, page 245.




Safety measure: Install guardrail/wire rope safety barriers


FIGURE 8: A CAR THAT ROLLED DOWN A STEEP DROP-OFF IN THE GHAT SECTION OF THE EXPRESSWAY.

The expressway has continuous stretches of downhill slopes and uphill mountain walls

throughout the length. Lack of adequate barriers cause vehicles to go off road into the steep slope

which increases the injury severity of the accident.


Accidents involving steep slopes/drop-offs can be reduced by installing roadside barriers along

that will prevent both passenger cars and heavy vehicles from going off the road.

FIGURE 9: ROAD SIDE BARRIERS THAT PREVENT VEHICLES FROM RUNNING OFF THE ROAD.


17

4. Poor/ineffective road signage

Details of all poor/ineffective road signage locations are provided in Appendix A, page 377.



COST OF SAFETY MEASURE INR 12,60,000

Safety measure: Install effective road signage


Road markings and signage are important means to communicate with driver and help them take

decisions in time. The common road signage problems on the expressway include incorrect

placement of the signage, visibility of the signage in both light and dark conditions and difficulty

in understanding signage because of small text or lack of multilingual messages.

FIGURE 10: EXAMPLES OF POOR/INEFFECTIVE ROAD SIGNAGE ON THE EXPRESSWAY


Design and placement of road signage is a science that can help in reducing accidents and injuries

initiated due to poor/late driver reaction or decision making. Hence, design and placement of

signage and their effectiveness in informing drivers should be assessed. Signage should be placed

at least a kilometer in advance of the critical situation that the driver needs to react to. The signage

must also be quickly readable and easily understood by the driver. Symbolic/pictorial signage

should replace the text signage wherever possible. In case, text signage has to be used, then the

information must be displayed in – Marathi (state language), Hindi (national language) and

English. It is important to repeat the signage, at least three times, to ensure that the driver gets

the message even if he/she missed one sign due to any reason.


5. Sharp road curvature

Details of all sharp road curvature locations are provided in Appendix A, page 389.




Safety measure: Install adequate advance warning signage


FIGURE 11: A SHARP CURVE AT KHOPOLI EXIT WHICH IS PRONE TO ACCIDENTS.

The expressway has many sections of sharp road curvatures which require the driver to reduce

speed and steer carefully. Excessive speed, or improper steering maneuvers, result in the vehicle

running off the roadway or rolling over due to centrifugal forces.

Since it is not easy to rebuild and realign curved roads, the only suitable solution is to provide

adequate advance warning signs for the driver so that he/she can reduce the speed of the vehicle

and maneuver through the curve safely.


Adequate advance warning signage, such as chevron markers, should be placed so that the driver

is given sufficient time to react to the scenario and adapt the speed and steering maneuver

accordingly. Wherever possible, the width of the shoulder at the outer edge of the curve should

be increased to accommodate space for vehicles, especially large trucks.

FIGURE 12: CHEVRON SIGNS BEING USED TO INFORM DRIVERS OF A SHARP CURVE.


19

6. Gaps-in-median

Details of all the gaps-in-median locations are provided in Appendix A, page 472.




Safety measure: Creation of additional lane for deceleration and acceleration


Gaps-in-medians can be found in many sections of the expressway. They have been provided for

emergency vehicles and road maintenance vehicles so that they may take a U-turn across the

median and enter the opposite travel lane. Now many regular vehicles have started to use the

gaps-in-median. The improper design of these gaps-in-medians create traffic conflicts between

road users wanting to take a U-turn and other road users passing through.

FIGURE 13: A TYPICAL GAP-IN-MEDIAN ACCIDENT SCENARIO.


A directional gap in median with deceleration lane is the most convenient design for all the road

users. Adequate and effective positioning of signage indicating the existence of gap in median is

essential.

FIGURE 14: ACCELERATION/DECELERATION LANES FOR GAPS-IN-MEDIAN ALLOW VEHICLES TRYING TO TAKE A U-TURN TO REDUCE / INCREASE SPEED WITHOUT AFFECTING THE FOLLOWING TRAFFIC.


7. Unguarded overhead bridge pi l lars

Details of all unguarded overhead bridge pillars are provided in Appendix A, page 518.




Safety measure: Install impact attenuators (water/sand filled barrels)


There are many overhead bridges under which the expressway passes. The pillars supporting

these overhead bridges are located on the roadside and median. Vehicles losing control and

running off the road may hit these unguarded pillars, which act as rigid barriers for the vehicles

impacting them, and hence aggravate severity of the impacts. In addition, bridge pillars also need

to be guarded from heavy vehicle impacts, as they may reduce the structural integrity of the pillar,

or worse, bring down the bridge.

FIGURE 15: CRASHES ON THE EXPRESSWAY WITH OVERHEAD BRIDGE PILLARS.

Safety measures that can mit igate accidents and in juries

Since such pillars are very rigid and can create catastrophic vehicle damage leading to fatal or

serious injuries, impact attenuators need to be installed in front of them so that they can reduce

the crash severity by absorbing the impact energy. In addition, barriers must also be installed

around the pillar, from well before the pillar location, to prevent any vehicle from approaching

the bridge pillars.

FIGURE 16: BRIDGE PILLARS GUARDED WITH IMPACT ATTENUATORS AND ROPE WIRE BARRIERS.


21

8. Unguarded bridge/jersey wall

Details of all the unguarded bridge/jersey wall locations are provided in Appendix A, page 559.




Safety measure: Install guardrail/wire rope safety barrier extension


FIGURE 17: EXAMPLES OF UNGUARDED BRIDGE WALL

Bridge walls and jersey walls on the roadside are found to be very close to the edge of the roadway

and can pose a serious risk to vehicles as the open ends of the wall act as a rigid barrier during

accidents.


The open ends of the jersey walls should be covered with guardrails or wired rope safety barriers

so that vehicles approaching the unguarded ends are deflected away from it. Other barrier

structures such as impact attenuators can also be used to cover open bridge wall ends.

FIGURE 18: GUARDED BRIDGE/JERSEY WALLS


9. Unguarded underpasses

Details of all the unguarded underpasses are provided in Appendix A, page 629.






FIGURE 19: AN ACCIDENT INVOLVING A VEHICLE THAT RAN OFF THE ROAD AND FELL DOWN INTO AN UNDERPASS.

There are many underpasses created under the expressway for either vehicular traffic or for

drainage or rain trenches. These underpasses are not protected by adequate barriers that can

prevent vehicles, which run off the road, from falling into them. There are also chances of these

errant vehicles falling onto some other vehicle(s) or pedestrian(s) using the underpass. Such

accidents are very severe due to the height of the drop.

Safety measures that can mit igate accidents and injuri es

Considering the operating speed of Expressway, underpasses need to be guarded from at least

100 meters before they occur. The barrier should also be strong enough to prevent all types of

vehicles (including heavy vehicles) from going off the road.

FIGURE 20: EXAMPLE OF A ROAD SIDE BARRIER FOR A ROAD PASSING OVER A DRAIN/TRENCH.


23

10. Entry/Exit road

Details of all the entry / exit road locations are provided in Appendix A, page 678.




Safety measure: Creation of additional lane for deceleration and acceleration


FIGURE 21: CRASH ON AN EXIT ROAD.

The expressway is a controlled access highway and has specific entry and exit points for travelers

who wish to travel on the expressway. Apart from these specified entry and exits, there are also

mud-paths that connect the villages along the sides to the expressway. These roads have also been

considered here. These merging and exiting areas are conflict zones for vehicles. Hence, adequate

provision has to be made to accommodate joining traffic in the main roadway, as well as ensure

that exiting traffic does not affect the moving traffic on the main roadway.


FIGURE 22: ACCELERATION / DECELERATION LANE DESIGN FOR JOINING / EXITING TRAFFIC.


11. Driver vision obstruction due to plantation

Details of all the driver vision obstruction locations are provided in Appendix A, page 719.



COST OF SAFETY MEASURE INR 92,500

Safety measure: Removal of bushes/plantations obstructing driver vision.

BCR 1st year: 71.56 Subsequent Year(s): Only Benefit

FIGURE 23: PLANTATION AND BUSHES IN THE MEDIAN CREATE A VISION OBSTRUCTION FOR DRIVERS.

Vision obstruction reduces the sight distance of a driver and restricts the view of the roadway or

intersection ahead. Most of the vision obstructions on the expressway is at sharp curves and is

created by bushes on roadside/median. By eliminating vision obstruction, the driver’s sight

distance increases and this allows the driver to see much ahead and react to critical situations

well in time.


Median/roadside bushes should be trimmed or removed to prevent driver vision obstruction.

Before removal of bushes –

Driver sight distance is low.

After removal of bushes –

Driver sight distance is improved.

FIGURE 24: DRIVER SIGHT DISTANCE BEFORE AND AFTER REMOVAL OF PLANTATION


25

12. Roadside trees

Details of all the roadside tree locations are provided in Appendix A, page 740.

EXPECTED BENEFIT INR 99,76,479





FIGURE 25: A CAR CRASH ON THE EXPRESSWAY INVOLVING IMPACT WITH TREES ON THE ROAD SIDE.

Trees planted close to the roadway edge are quite harmful to vehicles that run off the road. Trees,

just like rigid objects, can cause lot of damage to vehicles and result in severe or fatal injuries to

the occupants. The narrow width of trees create severe localized damage to vehicles at areas that

come in contact with the trees during the impact.


If the trees cannot be cleared from the road side, then barriers must be placed on the roadside to

deflect run-off vehicles away from the trees.

FIGURE 26: BARRIERS PLACED IN FRONT OF TREES ON A ROADSIDE.


13. Curb stones

Details of all the curb stone locations are provided in Appendix A, page 799.




Safety measure: Removal of curb stones

BCR 1st year: 14.51 Subsequent Year(s): Only Benefit

FIGURE 27: CURBSTONES AND AN EXAMPLE OF DAMAGE TO A CAR, IN WHICH OCCUPANTS SUFFERED SERIOUS

INJURIES.

Yellow and black curb stones can be seen at many sections of the expressway on both sides of the

roadway. These curb stones are installed to serve the purpose of delineation and give drivers an

idea of the road edge. They may look small and harmless, but curb stones cause significant

damage to vehicles when they run off road. This damage also results in injuries to the occupants.

Impacts with curb stones damage vehicle wheels and tires making them non-drivable and in some

cases also initiating rollovers.


FIGURE 28: A ROAD WITH REFLECTIVE MARKERS AND POLES USED FOR DELINEATION.

Curb stones need to be removed as they do not serve the purpose of effective delineators,

especially at night. In fact, rather than providing driver aid, they create more problems for

vehicles that impact them. For the purpose of delineation, flexible poles with reflectors or

reflective stickers placed on roadside barriers are more effective.


27

14. Guardrai l end taper

Details of all the guardrail end taper locations are provided in Appendix A, page 965.




Safety measure: Install guardrail end treatment


FIGURE 29: EXAMPLES OF GUARDRAIL END TAPER

Guardrails are provided to act as a barrier and prevent vehicles from going off the road. The ends

of these guardrails are usually tapered. This tapering, especially at the beginning of the guardrail

in the direction of approach of the vehicles, resembles a ramp that can launch a vehicle up in the

air or allows the vehicle to cross over to the other side. Passenger cars can climb over the

guardrail and get thrown over leading to a severe accident. Broken ends of guardrails, when

impacted, can easily pierce the passenger cabin.


Guardrail end taper must be avoided and the ends must be provided with terminals that can

absorb the impact energy of a vehicle crashing into it.

FIGURE 30: EXAMPLES OF GUARDRAIL END TREATMENT.


15. Flower pots in the median

Details of all the flower pots in median and their locations are provided in Appendix A, page 1049.



COST OF SAFETY MEASURE INR 71,215

Safety measure: Removal of flower pots in the median

BCR 1st Year: 11.45 Subsequent Year(s): Only Benefit

FIGURE 31: A CAR IMPACT WITH FLOWER POTS PLACED IN THE MEDIAN.

Flower pots can be found in the median at many stretches of the expressway. They may seem

harmless, but the large size and weight can cause severe damage to vehicles on impact that can

result in serious injuries to the occupants.


Like curbstones, flower pots should also be removed to clear the median as they do not serve any

important purpose for improving road safety.


29

Other infrastructure safety measures that can help:

The crash data analyzed for a period of 2 years showed two major non-infrastructure factors that

influenced accidents on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. It was determined that infrastructure

safety measures are available for these factors that can help in mitigating accidents and injuries

occurring as a result of these non-infrastructure factors. These non-infrastructure factors are now

explained below:

Human factor: Driver sleep / fatigue

Continuous driving for many hours, particularly on long stretches at constant speed, can make

drivers feel bored and sleepy. Add nocturnal hours or post-lunch hours, and the problem is

aggravated. These combinations can cause drivers to fall asleep and drive off the roadway into

the median or the shoulder area. Nearly 30% of the accidents examined on the Mumbai-Pune

Expressway had driver sleep/fatigue as the contributing human factor [2].

FIGURE 32: DRIVER SLEEP/FATIGUE IS A CONTRIBUTING HUMAN FACTORS TO NEARLY 30% OF CRASHES ON THE

MUMBAI-PUNE EXPRESSWAY.

Infrastructure safety measures – Continuous Rumble Str ips

This problem has been observed world over and is not unique to the expressway. Below are some

solutions, implemented successfully in other countries, which can be considered by road

engineers for this problem. Continuous rumble strips are designed to alert inattentive drivers to

potential danger by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling, transmitted through the

wheels into the vehicle’s frame. A continuous rumble strip is usually applied along an edge or

centerline to alert drivers when they drift from their lane.

FIGURE 33: CONTINUOUS LONGITUDINAL RUMBLE STRIPS


Rumble strips are effective (and cost-effective) for reducing accidents due to inattention or

sleepiness, and they are also effective for keeping drivers in their lanes in low visibility conditions

such as fog or dense rain. Shoulder rumble strips are most effective when part of a wide, stable

shoulder for a recovery. That is, the driver should have enough space to maneuver the vehicle

back onto the road. Such strips may also prevent drivers from using the shoulder lane as an

overtaking lane.

The BCR computation for continuous rumble strips is as shown below:




Safety measure: Installation of continuous longitudinal rumble strips on both sides.

BCR 1st Year: 0.16 Subsequent Year(s): 2.89

Vehicle factor: Brake fade

“Brake fade” is the term used to describe the reduced braking ability that can occur if brakes are

applied often or for a long period. Brake fade often occurs when a truck driver applies brakes

continually or repeatedly on a long, steep downhill as the mass of the truck fights to gain speed,

and the driver fights to restrain it. When braking ability diminishes (overheating of brake liners)

and gravity is still providing acceleration, a crash is a likely outcome.

Accidents as a result of brake fade account to 9% of all accidents on the Mumbai-Pune

Expressway. The percentage, though small, is significant as it only involves trucks and trailers.

When brake fade accidents were analyzed, it was found that 88% of such accidents occurred in

the Mumbai direction lane [1]. Brake fade accidents which occurred in the Mumbai direction were

analyzed further to identify the locations where this problem is most prevalent. All brake fade

accidents in the Mumbai-bound lane occur only in the ghat section, particularly near Amrutanjan

Bridge (milestone 41-45 km), where the road is particularly steep.

Infrastructure safety measures – Rest areas and brake check areas

A brake check area is a safety measure that allows truckers an area to pull their trucks safely off

the road to check the operation of their brake systems. Typically, places to perform a brake

inspection are located just before a long, steep downgrade. Since this is an area where truckers

have to stop and check their brakes, it can also be combined with a rest area where truckers can

also use facilities such as toilets, restaurants and grocery shops while the truck brakes cool off.

FIGURE 34: AN ADVANCE WARNING SIGN FOR A BRAKE CHECK AREA ON A HIGHWAY IN USA


31

In the case of the Mumbai – Pune Expressway, the location would have to be in an area prior to

the Amrutanjan bridge area when travelling towards Mumbai. The area between the Lonavala

exit and the Urse Toll Plaza can be considered for such a brake check area. The cost and the BCR

have not been determined as this is beyond the scope of this study.



Summary of results

The results of the BCR computation have been tabulated below in decreasing order of BCR.

TABLE 4: BENEFIT TO COST RATIO (BCR) CALCULATED FOR THE RECOMMENDED INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY

MEASURES.

S. No Infrastructure Factor (and Safety Measure) BCR - 1st Year (assuming 50% reduction in fatalities and serious injuries)

BCR - Subsequent Year(s) (assuming 80% reduction of fatalities and serious injuries)

1 Driver vision obstruction due to plantation (Removal of bushes/plantations obstructing driver vision.)

71.56 No cost only benefit

2 Poor/ineffective road signage (Installation of effective road signage) 24.54 431.83

3 Curb stones (Removal of curb stones) 14.51 No cost only benefit

4 Flower pots in the median (Removal flower pots) 11.45 No cost only benefit

5 Guardrail end taper (Installation of guardrail end treatment) 5.48 96.50

6 Sharp road curvatures (Installation of adequate advance warning signage)

3.53 62.15

7 Gaps-in-median (Creation of additional lane for deceleration and acceleration)

0.51 8.98

8 Roadside/Median concrete structure (Installation of impact attenuators (water/sand filled barrels)

0.33 5.79

9 Unguarded underpasses (Installation of guardrail/wire rope safety barrier extension)

0.29 5.14

10 Entry/Exit roads (Creation of additional lane for deceleration and acceleration)

0.23 3.96

11 Unguarded overhead bridge pillars (Installation of impact attenuators [water/sand filled barrels])

0.22 3.95

12 Unguarded bridge/jersey wall (Installation of guardrail/wire rope safety barrier extension)

0.22 3.90


13 Driver Sleep/Fatigue (Installation of continuous longitudinal rumble strips on both sides of roadway)

0.16 2.89

14 Narrow/No shoulder (Widening of shoulders (where possible) 0.12 2.16

15 Roadside steep slope/drop-off (Installation of guardrail/wire rope safety barrier extension)

0.12 2.10

16 Roadside trees (Installation of guardrail/wire rope safety barrier extension)

0.06 1.07


33

Post-crash infrastructure on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway

Infrastructure preparedness in the event of a mishap is an essential road safety requirement.

Post-crash care is important once the inevitable crash has already occurred. Victims with serious

injuries need to be attended to within an hour of the crash occurrence as it is the most crucial

time frame, also coined as ‘Golden hour’ by emergency medical personnel across the globe. It is

important that victims be taken to the nearest hospital and be given primary care and stabilized

as soon as possible. Once stabilized, victims can later be shifted to multi-specialty hospitals

depending on the criticality and severity of injuries. Ambulance personnel need to be equipped

and trained enough to handle all situations.

Apart from victim care, post-crash roadway accident management and traffic clearance is also

important. If it is not taken care of properly, then it might lead to a more mishaps or a traffic pile-

up situation. This indicates that police personnel and infrastructure maintenance personnel

should also arrive at the crash location with the Ambulance personnel to manage the accident

scene and ensure the safe evacuation of victims, and prevent further accidents at the spot through

adequate warning signals and diversions.

Location of traff ic aid posts, ambulances and hospitals

Once an emergency call is received, it is important to attend to it with a quick response time. This

requires adequate numbers of response teams strategically located such that they can respond to

a call as quickly as possible. The response teams usually include Traffic Aid Post personnel of the

Maharashtra State Highway Police and the Ambulance service personnel.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway has 4 Traffic-Aid Posts (TAPs) handled by the Maharashtra State

Highway Police. The locations of the TAPs has been shown in figure 35.

FIGURE 35: LOCATION OF TRAFFIC AID POSTS (TAPS) ON THE MUMBAI-PUNE EXPRESSWAY

Ambulances are stationed along the expressway for emergency medical care at 4 locations. Their

stations have been identified and located as shown in figure 36.


FIGURE 36: LOCATION OF AMBULANCES ON THE MUMBAI-PUNE EXPRESSWAY

Hospitals close to the Mumbai-Pune Expressway were identified and have been shown in figure

37.

FIGURE 37: LOCATION OF HOSPITALS CLOSE TO THE MUMBAI-PUNE EXPRESSWAY

The hospitals identified are listed below:

1. MGM Hospital, Kamothe

2. Parmar Hospital, Lonavala

3. Yash Hospital, Lonavala

4. Kamshet Hospital, Kamshet

5. Pawana Hospital, Somatane


35

6. Bade Hospital, Somatane

7. Pioneer Hospital, Somatane

8. Aadhar Hospital, Dehu road

9. Lokmanya Hospital, Nigdi

10. Upcoming Emergency Medical Care Centre, Ozarde


Conclusions

Based on the identification of the infrastructure factors that influence the occurrence of road

accidents and injuries, quantifying their occurrence on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, and

determination of Benefit to Cost Ratio (BCR) for implementing the safety measures to mitigate

accidents and injuries that are influenced by these infrastructure factors, the following

conclusions can be drawn:

1. Of the 16 factors identified (including human factor: driver sleep/fatigue), 6 of the factors

have safety measures that result in a BCR greater than 1 in the 1st year of implementation.

2. All the recommended safety measures for the 16 factors identified show a BCR greater

than 1 from the 2nd year. This indicates that the benefit will be realized early in all the

recommended safety measures, including those safety measures where the installation

costs exceed INR 20 crores.

3. The following high BCR (greater than 10 in 1st year) safety measures can be implemented

immediately.

a. Removal of bushes for eliminating driver vision obstruction issues.

b. Installation of effective road signage to reduce ambiguity and helps driver make

decisions in advance.

c. Removal of curb stones from the road sides.

d. Removal of flower pots and other movable objects in the median.

4. The following medium BCR (between 1 to 10 in 1st year) safety measures can be

implemented with proper planning and preparation:

a. Installation of guardrail end treatment.

b. Installation of adequate advance warning signage for sharp road curvatures.

5. The following low BCR measures (between 0 and 1 in 1st year) can be implemented with

proper engineering design and specifications:

a. Creation of an additional acceleration/deceleration lane at gaps-in-median, entry

and exit roads.

b. Installation of impact attenuators (water/sand filled barrels) in front of

roadside/median concrete structures and overhead bridge pillars.

c. Installation of guardrail/wire rope safety barrier extension at areas such as open

bridge/jersey walls, road side steep slopes and drop offs, underpasses and areas

where the road sides have lot of trees.

d. Widening of shoulder areas which are narrow (mostly toward the median side)

or are not available (in the ghat section).

e. Installation of continuous longitudinal rumble strips on both sides of the roadway

to alert sleepy drivers.

6. In addition, the creation of a truck rest area and brake check area is recommended in the

area between Lonavala and Urse Toll Plaza where truckers can park their vehicles and

allow the brakes to cool off before starting the descent down the ghat section towards

Mumbai. This is to prevent accidents caused as a result of “brake fade”.


37

Hence, based on the methodology followed, JPRI was not only able to identify the frequency of the

infrastructure factors on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, but also determine the most cost

effective way of dealing with each of these factors by identifying the safety measures that provide

the maximum “savings” in terms of reduction of lives lost and serious injuries.

JPRI suggests that the stakeholders and implementing agencies clearly understand the BCR

computation and review the costs and safety measures carefully prior to implementing them. It

is also advised to keep reviewing crash data on an annual basis and determine the safety

measures that are working effectively, and correct those safety measures that are not providing

the expected reduction of lives lost and serious injuries.


References

1. Road Accident Sampling System India – RASSI Consortium (www.rassi.in).

2. JP Research India Pvt. Ltd. (2014), Mumbai-Pune Expressway Road Accident Study

Report – Analysis of 372 accidents examined between October 2012 and October 2014.

3. McMahon, K. and Dahdah, S., “The true cost of road crashes: Valuing life and the cost of a

serious injury”.

4. GDP Per Capita for India as on 2013:

(https://www.google.co.in/?gws_rd=ssl#q=gdp+per+capita+of+india)

5. iRAP Toolkit, International Road Assessment Programme, UK, (http://toolkit.irap.org)

Mumbai-Pune Expressway Road Safety Survey...

Documents

Transcript of Mumbai-Pune Expressway Road Safety Survey...