In just three and a half hours, four cars crashed into the same divider on SG Highway near Gota, between 11 pm on Saturday and 2:30 am on Sunday. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt.
The accident spot is located in front of the Olive Green buildings, just after the Gota overbridge towards Gandhinagar. Locals say the divider is hard to see because of poor lighting and no proper signs, making it a ‘blind spot’ for drivers.
Prince Rajput, who runs a food stall nearby, saw the first crash. “Around 11:10 pm, a Kia Seltos hit the divider. The driver said he couldn’t see the divider because of the poor lighting,” Rajput said.
At 12:15 am, a Toyota Rumion crashed into the same divider. The driver thought he was driving on the main lane. The third accident happened around 1:20 am when a Hyundai Santro hit the divider.
At 2:15 am, fourth crash took place. This time, a Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, driven by a man identified as Chirag, rammed into same divider. Chirag said to media, “I was overtaking a car but the divider wasn’t visible. If there had been proper lighting or even a warning board, this could’ve been avoided.”
According to Deputy Municipal Commissioner Mirant Parikh,”We will soon install signage wherever it is required on that stretch. Additional lights will be added to improve visibility. Furthermore, we will involve a Gandhinagar-based institution to conduct a thorough study of the area, including accident patterns and road design flaws. Based on their findings, the AMC will implement necessary changes – be it better markings, redesigning the junction, or placing safety barriers,”.