NHAI installs blinkers at Ambur black spot after school bus accident
NHAI has installed blinkers and LED-strip poles at an accident-prone junction near Ambur after a school bus accident, as officials weigh a bridge as a permanent fix.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has begun a set of road safety measures at Vadaputhupatti junction, an accident-prone stretch on the Chennai–Bengaluru National Highway (NH 48) near Ambur town in Tirupattur district.
The move follows a collision on Saturday in which four students of a private school and the driver of their school bus were injured when a container lorry rammed the vehicle at the junction. Traffic on the route was disrupted for close to two hours.
An NHAI official said blinkers and poles fitted with LED strips had been placed on the carriageway near the intersection as an immediate measure to slow vehicles down.
Collector V. Nallasivan inspected the junction along with Tirupattur Superintendent of Police Akshay Anil Wakhare and NHAI officials.
Blinkers, reflectors and signage have now been installed at most of the 27 black spots identified in Tirupattur, particularly along the Chennai–Bengaluru National Highway and the Hogenakkal–Tirupattur High Road (SH 60), which links Pennagaram and Dharmapuri with Tirupattur and accounts for a large share of fatal accidents reported in the district.
A motorist, R. Sampath, said a bridge at the intersection would be the lasting solution and urged the district administration to take up its construction without delay.
Police said 98 pedestrians had been killed in accidents at these spots since January, while an average of 264 people had died at such locations in the district each year since 2017. Most junctions on highways have unmanned pedestrian crossings, they noted, making them risky for walkers.
With national highways generally carrying a speed limit of 90 kmph, vehicles approach these crossings at high speed, the police said. Along with zebra crossings and barricades bearing reflective stickers, blinkers help motorists stay alert to pedestrian movement at such junctions, they added.