Bengaluru-Mysuru highway sees huge drop in fatal accidents: Report

The Bengaluru-Mysuru access-controlled highway has witnessed a dramatic reduction in fatal accidents, according to recent police data. August 2024 recorded just two deaths on the highway, The Hindu reported.
The decline in casualties is attributed to the implementation of advanced safety measures, including sectional speed detection systems and rigorous enforcement. From January to August 2024, fatalities on the highway plummeted to 50, compared to 147 during the same months in 2023. The number of deaths has remained in single digits since January, indicating the effectiveness of the new strategies, the report noted.
Key interventions by the police include the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras for sectional speed detection. These cameras monitor vehicle speeds over stretches of the highway, rather than at single points. Real-time fines are imposed at toll gates and key entry and exit points, with alerts sent directly to officers equipped with tablets. In August alone, over 1.2 lakh speeding cases were recorded, including 89,200 for sectional speeding, the publication said.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Traffic and Road Safety, Karnataka, Alok Kumar, spoke to the publication and explained that the ANPR technology has been crucial in detecting and managing speed violations. Authorities have also implemented hybrid enforcement measures, including registering over 410 FIRs for excessive speeding and 51 for driving in the wrong direction, he said.
Despite these advancements, challenges remain. The highway’s numerous entry and exit points and pedestrian traffic from nearby villages contribute to ongoing safety issues. To address these, the police have requested the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to construct underpasses and footbridges to improve safety for pedestrians and manage traffic flow more effectively.
Kumar concluded that cops aim to continue reducing accidents while ensuring that the highway remains a safe and efficient route. With further infrastructure improvements, they hope to eventually increase the speed limit to 120 km per hour, he said, as quoted in the report.