The death of a city police constable in a road accident a couple of days ago was another case in the long list of fatalities reported this year. Constable Kalaimani was proceeding for duty from his house riding a motorcycle in the late hours when an unknown vehicle fatally knocked him down near the TVS Tollgate and sped away.
For the Traffic Investigation Wing, it was an addition to a long list of fatal cases reported within the city limits. According to police statistics, the city had witnessed over 85 fatal accident cases till now this year with the casualty figure exceeding 90. The city witnessed 151 fatal accident cases in 2014 which came down to 125 in 2015. The casualty figure was 160 and 134 respectively.
There is a drop in the number of fatal cases in 2016 till now as compared to previous years. In fact, the casualty figure had exceeded the 100 mark last year up to November. The number of non-fatal cases is also a matter of concern. However, there is a need to bring it down. Fatal accidents occur due to factors including rash driving and over speeding. Rash driving needs to be effectively checked to bring down the accident rate further, says C. Balasubramanian, member, District Road Safety Council. Sand deposits along roadside needs to be cleared regularly as they could pose a serious hazard to two-wheeler riders who could skid and fall while giving way for speeding vehicles coming from behind. Sincere efforts including sensitisation programmes should be taken by the authorities especially for drivers of private buses on safe driving as they frequently violate rules and overtake the other in their bid to rake in more collection, he said.
