CG witnesses 13,899 road accidents, 5,003 deaths in year 2019: Report
| Date :28-Oct-2020 |
Staff Reporter :
Bhilai,
Chhattisgarh recorded one road accident in every 25 minutes, while 6 persons killed in road accidents in every eight hours, according to ‘Road Accidents in India 2019’, a report by Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that was released recently. In 2019, Chhattisgarh witnessed 13,899 road accidents and 5,003 deaths from it. The report revealed that in the past four years, fatal road accidents in Chhattisgarh rose by 0.7 percent. Similarly, accident fatality or severity (deaths per 100 accidents) has also risen by 5.5 percent from 2016 to 2019. In terms of number of accidents, Chhattisgarh ranked 11th (first is worst) among Indian states while it ranked 12th in road accident fatalities.
The state has absolutely failed in reducing road accidents and fatalities compared to 2018. In reduction of road accidents, Chhattisgarh stood at 18th position amongst all states while in fatalities, it stood at 19th position. The maximum fatalities were on those roads that were under construction. In all, 498 people lost their lives in accidents owing to road-repair works which was 30 per cent up, compared to 215 deaths reported in 2018. Chhattisgarh also recorded 106 deaths due to potholes as well as speed breakers last year as the report pointed out. Chhattisgarh saw 27.1 road traffic accidents per 1 lakh population, while 10.5 road traffic deaths per one lakh population. Over 97 people died owing to ignoring flashing amber signals, while 102 people lost their lives due to ignoring red traffic signals.
Around 82 under-age drivers lost their lives in road accidents. The report stated that traffic control measures such as signals as well as the presence of police personnel helped in reduction of fatalities. In 2018, 158 deaths were due to ignoring red signals. The report on road accidents showed that out of 1,940 two-wheeler riders who were killed at Chhattisgarh last year, 1,492 were found riding without helmets. In the case of seatbelt violations, a total of 410 persons (drivers or passengers) were killed in 2019, which was 1.3 percent higher than 2018. While the number of drivers for not wearing seatbelt increased by 1.3 per cent, the fatalities declined in the case of passengers by nearly 20%. An analysis of the report also clears that there is a maximum rise in deaths in percentage in terms due to use of mobile phones during driving. Number of deaths in such cases increased to 502 compared to 397 in 2018.
Similarly, drunken driving as well as driving at high speed were another major factor in rising deaths from road accidents. Dr P K Ghosh, road safety expert said that the e-challan initiative reduces the road traffic accidents, besides executing better road engineering and implementing traffic norms. When contacted, Vivekananda Sinha, Inspector General of Police-Durg Police Range said that police have started many awareness programmes to make people aware regarding safety driving. But people should also understand their responsibilities and follow all regulations. Meanwhile, in some districts, police have succeeded in bringing awareness among people and as a result, those districts saw a reduction in the number of accidents.