40 kmph limit for bikers on Maa, AJC Bose flyovers
Times of India | 30 December 2024
Kolkata: Kolkata Police have instructed that bikers have to maintain a 40 kmph speed limit on Maa and AJC Bose Road flyovers, including the approach roads and descent ramps. This speed limit will also be enforced across all city flyovers, unless the speed limit specified there is less.
Kolkata Police commissioner Manoj Verma on Saturday afternoon announced the lifting of the 10 pm to 6 am ban on two-wheelers on these flyovers that had been imposed a few years ago. "There will be no restriction at night, but speed will be monitored very minutely throughout the day," said the CP.
On Sunday the new traffic notification read, "Movement of two-wheelers shall be allowed on the entire Maa flyover from north end, south end & west end and on the entire AJC Bose Road flyover from east end & west end all the time with speed restrictions of 40 kilometer per hour for ensuring the safety of the two-wheeler riders."
The speed limit for all vehicles on both flyovers was 60 km/hr, though the limit on up ramps and down ramps may vary. Breaking the speed limit and rash-riding has led to multiple deaths on Maa flyover earlier.
A week ago, Dilshan Alam (22) and his friend riding pillion, Anis Rana (18), plunged 60 metres from the top of the Maa flyover. A resident of Behala, Joydeb Hazra, riding pillion on a motorcycle, was flung off the vehicle after it hit the parapet at the junction of the flyover and the ramp connecting it to the AJC Bose Road flyover. He died of injuries after landing on the road 35 ft below, near Beckbagan. Kamalesh Singh, a resident of Kidderpore's Karl Marx Sarani, fell off the flyover and landed in front of Topsia police station. He later succumbed to his injuries.
All these motorcyclists failed to negotiate the steep turns at high speed and hit the parapet, according to CCTV footage. A ‘little constraint and control' could have saved their lives, said a senior officer.
Police sources said that the idea behind introducing this speed cap is driven by certain considerations. "One, while bike accidents are on the rise, it was felt that we need to strongly regulate their movement. Two, we are trying to fix one single speed limit across the city to remove any confusion. Three, we want to remove extra personnel on duty at the flyover approach points where we waste resources, especially when we have modern gadgets to track speeding. But for that to happen, we needed to give bikers and scooterists the time to adapt to the traffic norms," explained an officer.
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