Motorists struggle on flooded roads without seeing potholes

Water-logged potholes: Vehicles in trouble

Kere Manjunath ಕೆರೆ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್

Bengaluru: Roads that become flooded during the rains in the city are posing a threat to the lives of motorists. Two-wheeler riders are getting into accidents without seeing the water-filled potholes.

When rainwater stands on the road, motorists have no idea about the presence of potholes or the depth of the potholes. In addition to driving in the rain, while riding without the road water splashing on them, if the vehicle hits a pothole, it loses control. Hundreds of two-wheeler riders are facing trouble due to this loss of control during the rains.

Even when there is no rain, accidents continue to occur on many roads due to potholes. Not all cases reach the police station. It is rare for accidents to be reported as accidents caused by trying to avoid potholes or potholes. However, hundreds of unreported accidents occur in the city due to potholes and end in fights.

Although BBMP engineers say that ‘potholes are being closed quickly, we are working on them every day’, there is no road without potholes in the city. Two-wheelers are the most likely to be involved in accidents due to potholes. There have been many cases of two-wheeler drivers losing control and falling when they avoid potholes or inevitably enter them. In many cases, when one vehicle rider falls, the riders of another or more vehicles fall. There are also chain accidents. 

Potholes are also a nightmare for auto drivers. If the front wheel or one of the rear wheels falls into a pothole, it becomes difficult to control. Due to this, cases of the auto overturning or falling on the vehicle next to it are also common in many areas of the city. 

‘Even after a little rain, there is water on the road in SJP Park Road, K.R. Market. It is impossible to tell where the potholes are on these roads and where they are not. Every time it rains, there is no difference between a road and a pothole filled with rainwater. “Every time it rains, auto and two-wheeler riders keep falling off the potholes,” said trader Mohammad Sheikh.

“There is constant traffic on the Old Madras Road at all hours of the day. It is difficult for two-wheelers to move between buses and trucks. When it rains, I have fallen off the water-filled potholes many times. Many of my friends have also had such accidents,” said Raghu, a resident of Indiranagar.