Lack of traffic signals in the city is becoming a major challenge for the traffic police department; accidents, too, are rapidly increasing. Insufficient number of traffic signals in the city is the main reason why there are so many road mishaps and accidents that are taking place quite frequently. Every year, the number of people meeting with road accident is increasing drastically. As many as 400 people died in road accidents in the year 2011. If the pedestrian crossings and lane markings are done properly and the condition of the roads is improved, this number can be minimised. In a meeting held at Residency Club recently, Deputy Commissioner of city traffic police Vishwas Pandhare said, “There are 1400 crossings in the city, out of which only 236 have traffic signals and the maintenance of traffic signals in the city is a big task. There are cases of at least 10 non-operational traffic signals on a daily basis in the city.” As of now, there is no match between the number of traffic lights and number of crossings in Pune. “Negligence is the root cause of majority of accidents and all fatal accidents occur due to rough and rash driving by youngsters,” he said. In the end, Pandhare said that there is no financial help from the state or Central Government for improving the traffic scene in Pune. “Pune city is deprived of good traffic conditions. The city has more than 1,000 sq km area and only 500 traffic cops are operative. Mumbai and New Delhi have much higher number of staff,” he said. There has to be awareness amidst the public about road safety and traffic discipline has to be maintained. Speed limit and lane discipline has to be maintained which will solve the issue to a great extent. Solving traffic problems is the collective responsibility of everyone.
