Pune: As fatal accidents continue to claim lives, the city police have formed a 20-member special team to address 26 black spots.These black spots, located on the Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass, Pune-Solapur Highway, Pune-Nagar Highway and other city roads, claimed 226 lives in the past three years. Police classify a location as a black spot after recording five or more accidents there.Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sandip Bhajibhakre told TOI, “The team was formed about a month ago, and it has been assigned to study different black spots where repeated fatal accidents have taken place in the last five years.”“The team conducts joint inspections with officials from PMC, the state’s public works department (PWD), the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and local police stations to dissect recurring fatal crashes at black spots. It analyses the causes and recommends immediate and long-term interventions to prevent more deaths on these stretches,” he said.“Immediate measures include installing traffic signals and blinkers, laying rumble strips, filling potholes, rerouting traffic, regulating heavy-vehicle movement and correcting road levels,” Bhajibhakre said.“The long-term measures include widening roads, creating dedicated pedestrian bridges, and constructing bridges and flyovers,” he said.Navale Bridge on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway emerged as the deadliest black spot in Pune city police limits, recording 26 fatal accidents between 2024 and 2026, according to police data. The stretch under Sinhgad Road police station recorded five fatal accidents in 2024, 17 in 2025 and four in 2026.Perne Phata on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway and Kadamvak Vasti on the Pune-Solapur highway recorded 16 and 15 fatal accidents, respectively, during the three-year period. Tulapur Phata reported 14 fatalities, while Katraj Chowk and Theur Fata Chowk recorded 12 each. Dukkar Khind on the bypass and Kharadi Jakat Naka reported 11 fatal accidents each, while Palkhi Visava at Wadaki and Tata Guard Room Chowk in Vimannagar recorded 10 each.Police have identified 26 accident-prone stretches across jurisdictions, including Warje Malwadi, Sinhgad Road, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Hadapsar, Lonikand, Lonikalbhor, Vimantal, Mundhwa and Kondhwa. Several locations have recorded accidents consistently over the past three years. Kadamvak Vasti reported six fatal accidents each in 2025 and 2026, while Navale Bridge recorded 17 fatalities in 2025, the highest annual toll among all black spots.“We are paying special attention to the Katraj-Dehu Road Bypass as it has several black spots. We have already installed blinkers, rumble strips and other safety measures at these locations,” Bhajibhakre said.“We want to reduce accidents by at least 20% to 30% over the next couple of years,” he said.Some black spotsKatraj-Dehu Road BypassDukkar KhindSpot near Mai Mangeshkar HospitalMutha River BridgeNavale BridgeBhumkar BridgeKatraj ChowkDari PulNew Katraj TunnelRavidarshan, HadapsarKadamvak Vasti, Loni KalbhorTheur Phata ChowkSaswad RoadPalkhi Visava, Saswad RoadPerne Phata, Pune-Nagar HighwayTulapur Phata, Pune-Nagar HighwayViman Nagar ChowkTata Guard Room ChowkKharadi Bypass ChowkKharadi Jakat Naka509 ChowkMhasoba Mandir ChowkMundhwa Railway FlyoverSpot near Dharmavat Petrol Pump
