In Pictures: Hyderabad's five most dangerous roads for pedestrians

Hyderabad: An extensive report released by The Footpath Initiative recently has revealed that 568 fatal pedestrian crashes occurred in GHMC limits between 2017-19. While these crashes spanned GHMC's six zones, a majority of them happened on arterial roads. We attempt to map the five roads that witnessed the highest number of pedestrian crashes in the time period of study.

1. NH 65 road (Serilingampally Zone)

The road that witnessed the highest number of fatal pedestrian crashes through 2017-19 is the NH65 road at Miyapur. As per the report, the 10 km stretch from RC Puram Post Office to Miyapur Metro Station witnessed 35 fatal crashes, of which 30 occurred when pedestrians were crossing the road.

NH 65 Road (Serilingampally zone)

Point A: RC Puram Post Office/ Point B: Miyapur Metro Station

The stretch recorded 3.5 accidents per km. This road also featured in a circular released by the Ministry for Road Transport and Highways in 2008, titled '25 Black Spots in the state of Andhra Pradesh'.

2. NH 65 and Balanagar Main Road (Serilingampally Zone)

NH 65 & Balanagar Main Road (Serilingampally zone)

Point A: Miyapur Metro Station/ Point B: Ferozguda Railway Bridge

The road stretching from Miyapur Metro Station to Ferozguda railway bridge witnessed 30 fatal crashes on its 10.3 km stretch. A large majority of these crashes happened when pedestrians were crossing the road, 23. Its per km crash rate stands at 2.9.

3. Inner Ring Road (Charminar Zone)

Inner Ring Road (Charminar zone)

Point A: Santosh Nagar Cross Roads/ Point B: Ring Road Junction

Charminar Zone-based Inner Ring Road's stretch from Santosh Nagar crossroad to ring road junction witnessed 24 fatal crashes, of which 17 happened while pedestrians were crossing the road. Six crashes happened on the 8 km stretch while pedestrians were on the roadside.

4. Inner Ring Road (Charminar Zone)

Inner Ring Road (Charminar zone)

Point A: Aramgarh Cross Roads/ Point B: Dairy Farm Bus Stop

The 7.2 km stretch of the Inner Ring Road from Aramgarh crossroad to Dairy Farm bus stop witnessed 23 crashes where pedestrians lost their lives. Of these, 16 happened while citizens were crossing the road, and 4 happened while they were on the side.

5. Inner Ring Road- Lakdikapul Road (Charminar Zone)

Inner Ring Road & Lakdikapul Road (Charminar zone)

Point A: Government Hospital Mehdipatnam/ Point B: Lakdikapul Metro Station

Thirteen fatal crashes happened on the 4.5 km stretch that lies between Mehdipatnam Government Hospital, Military Area, and Ladkikapul Metro Station. Two of these crashes happened while people were on the roadside, and nine occurred when they were crossing the road.

The roads that witnessed the highest number of crashes are arterial roads, or high capacity urban roads. A total of 135 crashes were recorded in the Charminar zone between 2017 and 2019 and 72.6 per cent of these happened on arterial roads. Similarly, 73 per cent of the crashes in Serilingampally zone occurred on arterial roads, and a majority of the victims in both the cases were crossing the road while it happened.

Also, 62 per cent of the 568 accidents analysed in the Footpath Initiative’s report occurred on arterial roads.

Reflecting on the dangers of these roads, founder Varun Sridhar said, “Most of these roads have offices on one side and ATMs/ restaurants on the other. Accidents, hence are bound to happen because drivers drive at a high speed there. For instance, the NH 65 Miyapur road has multiple driving lanes, which makes crossing the road risky.”

He further said that this highlights the need for more mid-block crossings.