Bengaluru: In order to curb unauthorised parking on highways, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) identified 20 critical locations in Karnataka. These black spots were detected based on constant parking violations over a period of time.The detection is part of a nationwide process in which 595 locations were identified. In Karnataka, four of these black spots are located in Bengaluru, followed by three spots in Udupi district and two each in Chikkaballapura and Chamarajanagar districts.According to NHAI, parking in non-designated zones, roadside encroachments and unregulated activities along highways pose significant risks to road users and adversely impact traffic flow and safety. To address these challenges, it pinpointed latitude and longitude details of these locations. “We do not have any authority to enforce rules or collect fines, but we can work in close coordination with state govts, district administrations and enforcement agencies for removal of unauthorised parked vehicles from national highways,” an NHAI official told TOI.To ensure inter-agency coordination in enforcement, NHAI is in touch with state govt for the establishment of district highway safety task forces and to nominate nodal officers to monitor compliance.NHAI directed its field offices to undertake immediate audits of all advanced traffic management system (ATMS) installations and ensure components such as traffic monitoring cameras, video incident detection systems, variable speed detection systems, variable message signboards and emergency call boxes are fully operational. “Deployment of ambulances and recovery vehicles, enhanced highway patrolling, integration of ATMS alerts with enforcement agencies enable faster incident response, improved enforcement and safer travel,” the authority said.
