Road accidents, deaths come down in State

Vijayawada: Road accidents declined by 11 per cent and deaths in the mishaps decreased by 12 per cent in the State in the first six months of this year between January and June compared to the same period in 2017.

Due to the awareness created by various law enforcement agencies, NGOs, educational institutions and other organisations, the number of accidents came down in the first six months in the State. Similarly, the number of casualties have also gone down.  

According to the transport department, 10,452 accidents took place in the State between January and June 2018 against the 11,751 accidents registered during the same period in 2017 thus recording 11 per cent decrease in mishaps.

Similarly, the number of deaths also declined. A total of 3,892 people died and 12,484 persons injured in the mishaps from January to June, 2018. Last year, more people lost their lives in the road accidents.  In all, 4,446 persons died and 14,779 persons injured in the road accidents from January to June in 2017.  Fatalities have declined in the State by 12.46 per cent this year.

A total of 12,484 persons injured in 13 districts in the first six months this year against the 14,779 persons last year. The percentage of decrease is 15. Rash driving, over speed, ignoring the safety rules, passing in wrong route, overloading are some of the main reasons for the accidents, said E Meera Kumar, Deputy Transport Commissioner, Vijayawada.

He said the transport department in co-ordination with the police, other departments and NGOs is conducting road safety week and trying to create awareness to reduce the accidents. He said road accidents came down in many areas due to conversion of the two-lane roads into four lanes. He described this as one of the important reasons for decline in mishaps.

Krishna district tops the list in the State in road accidents recording 1,365 accidents between January and June 2018. Guntur district registered the highest number of deaths (508) followed by Chittoor and East Godavari districts 393 and 392 deaths respectively. 

Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts have registered the least deaths in road accidents with 112 and 133 respectively in the first six months of this year. Last year, these two districts recorded 199 and 200 deaths respectively.

Ghastly accidents are taking place in one district or other every week. But mostly, auto drivers, two-wheeler riders and others are not learning lessons. 

Unfortunately, many young students and job holders aged below 30 years were losing valuable lives in the road accidents leaving behind unforgettable misery to the parents and family members.