Wrong side driving is right in Lucknow

Lucknow: Even if you follow all the traffic rules while commuting on city roads, there is the possibility of meeting with a fatal accident. As many as 33 people lost their lives in Lucknow last year because someone else crashed their motor vehicles from the opposite direction.
In an exhaustive survey carried out by the traffic directorate of UP police, the second-most road accidents due to driving on the wrong side took place in Lucknow.The highest number was noted in Aligarh district (178).
A total of 105 road accidents in Lucknow district, which has a road network of close to 3,400 km, occurred as one of the vehicles involved was plying in the wrong direction.
According to additional director general of traffic directorate, Anil Agarwal, the majority of deaths took place on highways. “People have the tendency of speeding on empty stretches. A single bicycle borne villager plying in the wrong direction on a highway, can also be lifethreatening,” said Agarwal.
Within the city, plying on the wrong side leads to minor accidents on a daily basis in areas like Chinhat, Indiranagar, Jiyamau, Lalbagh, Naka, Qaiserbagh, and Dubagga.
At times, residents create gaps in the road dividers built on high-speed corridors for a short cut to their destination. Former PWD engineer and member of a body of highway engineers, Devendra Singh, said, “The tendency to take a short cut is the biggest reason for wrongside accidents in the city.”
Singh added that apart from improving safety measures, things will not improve without strong enforcement.
In a positive, fatal crashes on Shahid Path have come down as National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) augmented road safety measures after high court instructed them to do so.