The mounting accidents in Kerala’s road network is turning to be a concern with 1,780 lives being lost and 17,152 getting injured in the first five months of year.
In the January-May 2014 period, Thiruvananthapuram accounted for the highest number of deaths (226) followed by Ernakulam (212), Thrissur (172), and Alappuzha (161).
But, Ernakulam topped in the number of accidents (2,366) followed by Thiruvananthapuram (2,013), and Thrissur (1,739). The least had been reported from Wayanad where 37 were killed and 307 injured in 256 road accidents.
The State witnessed 15,375 road accidents during the period in which 10,951 were grievously injured and 6,201 others sustained injuries as per the statistics compiled by the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB).
There were more accidents on National Highway (NH) stretches in the State than on State Highways (SH). NH stretches accounted for 3,747 accidents, SH 3,007, and other roads 8,621.
The highest number of accidents on NH stretches took place in Ernakulam district (542), followed by Alappuzha (484), and Kollam (464).
Rash driving resulted in 14,740 accidents.
As many as 4,21,507 vehicles in various classes were booked for rash driving. Official sources told The Hindu that Rs.7.51 crore had reached the exchequer as penalty from the 2,51,300 vehicles booked for speeding and rash driving.
Drunk driving resulted in 141 accidents while other reasons caused 494 accidents.
As many as 11,344 accidents took place during the day and 4,022 after sunset. Two-wheelers were involved in 8,693 accidents.
Cars were involved in 3,850 accidents, and autorickshaws in 2,299. The buses of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation were involved in 453 accidents, private buses 1,211, lorries 1,228, and jeeps in 350 accidents.