It was around 1.50 a.m. of July 3 when N. Suresh, 40, a police constable with the Devanahalli station, who was on night rounds on the elevated expressway to Kempegowda International Airport, saw an SUV parked in the middle of the road after it had met with an accident. As Suresh was checking the SUV, a speeding car from the opposite direction lost control, hit the median, crossed over and collided with the accident-hit SUV, killing Suresh and another passenger in the car. The car had six people on a joyride, and the driver was allegedly drunk and speeding.
The KIA expressway has turned out to be one of the deadliest stretches in the city. Bengaluru City Traffic Police have identified 8 accident black spots on the road, of which Jakkur flyover has emerged as one of the deadliest spots with 27 accidents and 18 fatalities reported during the 2020-22 period.
“Most of the accidents on this stretch occur during night and early morning when the traffic is less and speeding is rampant,” said Sachin Ghorpade, DCP (Traffic-North). While there is confusion even among the traffic police on the maximum speed limit on the expressway, whether it is 80 kmph or 100 kmph, those limits are often violated on the stretch. “In many fatal accidents on the stretch, we find vehicles zooming past at over 120-140 kmph,” said a senior traffic police official.
