New Delhi: Near Brar Square in Delhi Cantt lies an accident-prone spot — a U-turn on Ring Road where car drivers and two-wheeler riders barely stop after a crash. They take a quick look at the damage, shrug, and move on.In the first four months of this year alone, 13 PCR calls have been received related to minor accidents at this spot. However, sources indicate that the numbers could be much higher as several accidents, if not severe, often go unreported. The crashes, albeit minor, have also left the U-turn in a dilapidated condition.Believing that fatality count cannot be the sole criteria for improving the state of affairs, Delhi Traffic Police (DTP) has written to Public Works Department (PWD) and recommended changes to the design of the U-turn. The move came after a representation by an NGO, Guru Hanuman, highlighting road safety concerns.In an official letter, the deputy commissioner of police (traffic), New Delhi range, Rajeev Kumar, said the existing design of the U-turn was not suitable from the point of view of motorist and commuter safety. The letter referred to the NGO’s complaint pointing out the risk of accidents on both carriageways of Ring Road due to the U-turn’s structure. After receiving the complaint, the DCP inspected the site and acknowledged that the current layout is a safety hazard.“Even a few calls of minor collisions are a big deal. There could be more instances too. Due to this, the nose of the U-turn is deteriorating. Many times, there is no severity, so a PCR call isn’t even made. But vehicles might be getting harmed, and sometimes, it can be fatal too. So, why just quietly observe this when something can be done about this?” said Kumar.The DTP letter lists three suggestions proposed by the NGO and supported by the traffic police. The first recommendation is to remove the nose of the U-turn from both carriageways to ease vehicular movement and reduce the chances of collision.The second suggestion is to install barriers or curved stones with greenery about 200 metres ahead of the U-turn. These would cover one lane at the edge of the U-turn to guide traffic in the direction of movement, helping to prevent sudden lane changes and improve visibility.The third recommendation is to install adequate safety measures, such as blinkers, reflectors, solar studs, signage, road markings and other traffic calming tools at the U-turn.The letter concludes that the redesign appears feasible from a traffic management point of view, and formally requests PWD to consider implementing the changes.The development comes amid growing attention to road design and traffic flow issues in Delhi, particularly on high-density roads like Ring Road. The proposed measures aim to reduce conflict points at the U-turn and streamline traffic movement in both directions.
