Lane indiscipline second biggest killer on UP roads

The recent death of a journalist, who was knocked down by a UPSRTC bus on Lucknow’s busy Lohia Path, has brought into focus the rising menace of lane indiscipline on roads, highways and expressways in Uttar Pradesh.

- Brajendra K Parashar

Initial accounts suggest that either of the two vehicles involved was not adhering to lane rules, leading to the tragic crash, an incident that is no longer isolated but part of a growing pattern across the state.

From urban arteries to high-speed corridors like the Yamuna Expressway, Agra-Lucknow Expressway and the Purvanchal Expressway, frequent lane violations — sudden switches, wrong-lane driving, overtaking from the left or slow vehicles using overtaking lanes —are endangering lives daily.

"Driving slowly in the fast lane, cutting across lanes without indicators or overtaking from the left have become rampant, turning roads, especially highways and expressways, into danger zones," said Akhand Pratap, an IAS officer and chief executive officer (CEO) of the UP Rural Road Development Authority.

Fatal crashes on expressways, cars ramming into illegally parked trucks and buses in the fast lanes are quite common, showing both lack of awareness and enforcement of rules.