Problems of U-turns in karachi

INTRODUCTION

What is u-turn and why they are provided?

A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180 degree rotation to reverse the direction of travel or the turning of a vehicle in a U-shaped course so as to face in the opposite direction. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U.  In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others it is treated as a more ordinary turn, merely extended. In still other areas lanes are occasionally marked "U-Turn only”.

In Karachi u-turns of different designs can be seen mostly on every road. The construction of these u turns on many roads of the city was aimed at providing convenience to motorists and citizens while traveling on long corridor but many people are facing problems due to u-turns. 

Advantages of u-turns:

The purpose of the construction of u-turns was to provide convenience for the drivers and for the smooth flow of traffic so that people reach their destination easily while traveling on signal free corridors. Some of the advantages of modern u-turns (separated lane u-turns) are as below:

·          1.  Easy travelling for the motorists and citizens without any interruption which was present  before the construction of separate lane u-turns.

·           2.  Increases queuing space for left-turning vehicles.

·           3. Save travel time

·          4. Free flow of the traffic (if there is no blockage)

       

        

       PROBLEMS DUE TO U-TURNS

There are many problems we are facing in our daily life during travelling from one place to another due to bad design and unplanned u-turns. For example effect of u-turn on the flow of traffic, traffic congestion and wrong way driving

is a common problem which can be seen in Karachi. Following are the problems highlighted which we face while travelling and which affect us directly or indirectly in our daily life.

WRONG WAY DRIVING

•  Wrong-way driving is the act of driving a motor vehicle against the direction of traffic.

•  The first major problem raise from u-turn.

•  Construction of u-turns has enhanced wrong way driving

  Why people make wrong turns 

• To save time because u-turns are constructed at a large distance to each other.

• To save money by saving fuel or gas.

  Result

• Accidents

• Fatalities

• Traffic congestions

PROBLEM FOR HEAVY VEHICLE
Another problem with the design of u-turns is smaller turning radius. Some u-turns
present in Karachi are not designed for heavy or big vehicles. If some emergency occur
and there is a need of fire brigades then they have to travel more than 1 to 2 km to get
into the opposite direction road or need to reverse in the u-turn several times to rotate the
vehicle 180 degree.

TRAFFIC CONGESTION

U-turns are one of the main reason of traffic congestion.

Why traffic congestion occur?

In large cities, transportation is a source of road congestion. Due to continuously increasing population road vehicles are increasing day by day which causes severe road congestions. Different Authorities are trying to improve the traffic flow by changing the road networks and road design elements. Traffic delay is a common scene in large cities. In certain developing countries, poor road infrastructures worsen the problem to a larger extent.

The question arises why these traffic jams or congestion occur? When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction between vehicles slows the speed of the traffic stream, congestion is incurred. As demand approaches the capacity of a road (or of the intersections along the road), extreme traffic congestion sets in. U-turns is also one of the reasons in our city that decreases the capacity of the road. U-turns in our city have improper design and are unplanned. U-turns which are constructed had narrowed the road and decreased the right of way. This would be the main reason why traffic congestion occurs.

ACCIDENTS

Unplanned u-turns in Karachi are also one of the main causes of traffic accidents or collision.

MEASURES FOR SOLVING U-TURNS PROBLEMS

These all problems mention above are related to mostly transport. Different solution and measure have been taken by the government for solving these problems. Some of the solutions taken by the government as well as recommended solutions are described below.

One of the solutions for the wrong way drivers by the City District Government Karachi is that they had fixed tyre killers on U turns to stop the motorists going wrong side of the road. These tyre killers will cut the tyres of vehicles trying to cross over them while going in wrong direction.

 But this measure can not work with the people of Karachi. At majority of the u-turns these substandard Tyre killers have already broken allowing traffic violators to drive their vehicles in wrong directions without fear of damage to their vehicle wheels. To drive vehicles through narrow u-turns from wrong side often proves fatal, as to discourage this trend the city government spend huge budget to install the Tyre-killers. People also put objects in pendulum system of these spikes so to stop them from working. 

Another solution taken by the government are elevated u-turns. These u-turn have minimized the traffic congestion very much at some location. But this solution is not suitable for all areas in Karachi due to lack of space and economic conditions.