A few sharp curves beneath Kochi metro corridor turning into death traps

On Sunday night, a young woman died in a fatal accident at a curve beneath the Kochi metro alignment near the Champakkara bridge. The victim, a pillion rider, lost her life when the two-wheeler she was seated on crashed into the median beneath the metro viaduct on the Vyttila-Pettah stretch. In recent years, multiple accident fatalities have been reported at this curve, while over a dozen two-wheeler riders lost their lives in accidents at another steep curve in front of the Elamkulam metro station on S.A. Road over the past decade.

Councillor V.P. Chandran of Vyttila ward in the Kochi Corporation blamed the accidents on drivers who are unfamiliar with the stretch and indulge in rash driving. He pointed out that the accidents frequently occurred during late-night hours, when motorists tend to overspeed on the four-lane stretch, losing control of their vehicles by the time they apply the brake.

Mayor V.K. Minimol visited the accident-prone area on Monday and promised to convene a meeting of officials from the Public Works Department (PWD), traffic police, and Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) to implement measures to prevent further accidents. She emphasized the need for adequate reflectors and sign boards to warn motorists of the sudden and steep curves located close together.

The municipal agencies were also asked to widen the bottlenecked Vyttila-Kunnara Park corridor to four-lane width to alleviate traffic congestion at the hub's exit.

Meanwhile, sources in the traffic police department suggested that the agencies owning the roads should install more reflectors and boards in advance to warn motorists. They also urged the public to share images of vehicles parked near such curves with the police to enable prompt remedial action. A senior official from the PWD confirmed that indication boards and retro-reflective object hazard markers had been installed to alert motorists of the dangerous curves.

They mentioned that painting rumble strips on the road could potentially help avert future accidents, although altering the road's alignment would be a complex process.