When on road, say ‘pehle aap’

Youngsters head the list of casualties resulting from road accidents. Cautioning the young minds, Mr. Butchi Raju pointed out that as per a recent survey the age group between 15 and 24 heads the list of fatal road accidents.

“When on road always say -- Pehle Aap” is the caption designed by the government on road safety for this year and the message is very profound. In a simple phrase it conveys that cautious driving can avert accidents, said Motor Vehicle Inspector (MVI) M. Butchi Raju. He was delivering a talk on road safety, organised by The Hindu in association with Srinivasa Yamaha at Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering (GVPCOE), on Friday.

According to him, most of the accidents are caused due to negligence of drivers and it is estimated that the percentage is 78.7 of the total accidents in the country.

Cautioning the young minds, Mr. Butchi Raju pointed out that as per a recent survey the age group between 15 and 24 heads the list of fatal road accidents.

Giving a lucid Power Point presentation to highlight various aspects and reasons of accidents, he said, “Talking over cell phone while driving has become a menace and it is responsible for 25 per cent of the total accidents.”

He urged the students to shun the use of cell phones while driving.

While in 2002, the total number of road accidents in India was 4.07 lakh, the fatality was 84,674, and in 2014 the number increased to 4.9 lakh and 1.38 lakh. “This indicates that the fatal cases have gone up sharply and that is primarily due to increase in negligent driving, use of cell phone, entry of high-speed vehicles and bad road conditions,” he said.

He also said that two-wheelers account for 25 per cent of the road accidents and the worst hit were pedestrians who head the list with about 40 per cent.

Giving some tips, apart from cautious driving and shunning the use of cell phones while driving, Mr. Butchi Raju emphasised on the use of seat belt, helmets and urged the students to shun drunken driving.

Triple riding

Earlier, Deputy Transport Commissioner G. Krishnaiah also spoke about safety aspects and urged the students not to over speed and avoid triple riding on motorbikes.

Principal of GVPCOE A.B.K. Rao, Regional Manager of The Hindu T.V. Suresh and Dasarath Reddy of Srinivasa Yamaha also spoke.