Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway turns deadly: Accidents surge, raising safety concerns

The ambitious expressway project, aimed at significantly reducing travel time between the state capital Bengaluru and the cultural city Mysuru has now gained a grim reputation as a “deathway.”

Accidents have become a distressingly regular occurrence on the Express Highway, initially launched with the goal of reducing the 4-hour Bengaluru-Mysuru travel time to just 75 minutes.

The Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway has experienced a staggering 849 road accidents and claimed the lives of 155 individuals since its traffic operations began in early September 2022. An additional 613 people have suffered serious injuries. Within the Ramanagara district alone, 279 accidents have occurred, resulting in 100 fatalities and 298 injuries. Out of these, 84 were categorized as severe accidents, while the remaining 185 were considered general accidents.

Disturbingly, fatal accidents have been on the rise in Ramnagar district, with an increase in accidents involving three to five casualties. Mandya district has seen 570 accidents on the expressway, claiming the lives of 55 individuals and leaving 52 severely injured. Additionally, 184 people sustained serious injuries, while 279 suffered minor injuries. Notably, the bypass road covering a 22.50-kilometer stretch between Ramnagar and Channapattana has emerged as an accident hotspot, with a significant number of fatal accidents occurring there.

Several factors have contributed to the surge in accidents on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway, including:

• Lack of speed limits on the expressway, leading to vehicles disregarding lane rules and frequent lane crossings
• High-speed travel between 120-160 km/hr on the expressway bypass road.
• Insufficient signboards and guidance for travelers on the bypass roads.
• Inadequate availability of timely ambulance services and emergency treatment facilities in case of accidents.
• Absence of highway patrolling, camera surveillance, and effective systems to regulate vehicle movement.
• Slow-moving vehicles such as autos, tractors, and bikes share the highway with faster traffic.
• Broken wire fences along the highway, resulted in vehicles parking haphazardly and pedestrians crossing the road.

The Bengaluru-Mysore Highway has witnessed several major accidents, including:

• January 20: Three deaths and ten injuries in a truck-tractor accident near Mudugere Vaishali Hotel.
• April 22: Five fatalities near Lambanithandya in Channapattana taluk.
• May 1: Three killed in a collision between a bike and a car near Ramnagar Jayapura Gate.
• June 11: Two deaths and two injuries in a car accident in front of Mudugere Chamundeshwari Hospital in Channapatna taluk.
• June 14: Three fatalities near Devarahosahalli bypass in Channapatna taluk