Mumbai traffic department keep signals on post 11pm to reduce speeding accidents

Traffic signals late night in Bandra. Pic/ Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Bike and car racers might not take this development too well. In a move to curb accidents due to speeding and to ease congestion at certain spots, the Mumbai traffic department, starting this month, has decided to keep signals operational through the night at major junctions across the city.

Until now, traffic signals would turn yellow post 11 pm, and would only function again around 8 am. "We carried out an audit of vehicular traffic and its pattern across the city, and found that there are many places in the city where congestion and speeding cases are higher late in the night. Thou­gh we set up nakabandis to catch speeding motorists, we realised it wasn't enough," a senior officer said, adding, "So, we decided to extend the time of signals across the city."

The traffic department has allotted three extended time slots -- 12.30 am, 1.30 am and 3 am -- for signals at different junctions in the city. "These timings have been set after keeping an eye on traffic congestion at particular roads," said another officer.
Signals at major stretches such as Eastern Express Highway, Bandra Reclamation, Marine Drive and Worli sea face will run for 20 hours. "The new initiative has come as great relief to us, as almost 90 per cent of the vehicles now follow traffic rules," the officer added.

Meanwhile, motorists and pedestrians are lauding the BMC's move. Amol Shrivastav, who often goes for late night strolls with his family to Haji Ali, said, "Many bikers race across the Haji Ali junction in the night, making the stretch dangerous for pedestrians. Signals will definitely reduce this menace."

When contacted, Amitesh Kumar, joint commissioner, traffic, confirmed the development. "Having round-the-clock signals has benefited greatly. Since its implementation, there has been a drop in speeding cases near major junctions. The response has been good so far," he said.

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