Tamil Nadu tops in road accidents

The State recorded 15,642 fatalities due to road accidents, just behind Uttar Pradesh, where 17,666 persons lost their lives.

June 10, 2016 12:00 am | Updated December 04, 2021 11:07 pm IST - Chennai:

KRISHNAGIRI, TAMIL NADU, 03/06/2016: The mangled remains of the bus, lorry and car involved in a multiple collision that killed 15 persons and injured 34 others in Melumalai in Krishnagiri district Tamil Nadu on June 03, 2016. Photo: N. BashkaranEOM

KRISHNAGIRI, TAMIL NADU, 03/06/2016: The mangled remains of the bus, lorry and car involved in a multiple collision that killed 15 persons and injured 34 others in Melumalai in Krishnagiri district Tamil Nadu on June 03, 2016. Photo: N. BashkaranEOM

It is a distinction Tamil Nadu cannot be proud of. The State leads the country in the total number of road accidents. In 2015, Tamil Nadu registered a total of 69,059 accidents, nearly 14 per cent of all road accidents in India.

The State recorded 15,642 fatalities due to road accidents, just behind Uttar Pradesh, where 17,666 persons lost their lives, data released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Thursday showed. The number of road fatalities in Tamil Nadu rose in 2015 from 15,176 deaths in 2014, with an average of 1,300 persons losing their lives every month in 2015.

Tamil Nadu also reported the highest number of persons injured in road accidents. Two-wheelers, cars and jeeps were involved in a majority of these accidents recording over 34,000 cases.

“Tamil Nadu has long been one of the States with the highest number of road accidents. Obviously, it is very necessary that the State’s road safety legislation matches the Centre’s legislation and the State government supports any changes that are set to come up in the Motor Vehicles Act, to tackle road accidents,” Saji Cherian, director- operations, Save Life Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation focussed on improving road safety and emergency care, told The Hindu.

In Tamil Nadu, Chennai had the highest number of fatalities with 886 people losing their lives, followed by Coimbatore with 238, and Tiruchi, where 156 people succumbed to road accidents.

However, Tamil Nadu government sources said the number of fatalities was steadily declining from 2012. “Tamil Nadu has the highest number of vehicles in the country, road penetration is high and there are different and powerful vehicles being launched. Sometimes, people do not wear helmets or seat-belts that also lead to deaths,” said an official. The government was taking measures to reduce accidents related to government vehicles.

Faulty road design

Mr. Cherian said faulty road design too was a major reason for accidents. “Although the Centre is planning a number of amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, State governments need to put that in to practice. The Motor Vehicles Act currently does not protect the most vulnerable sections of road users – pedestrians, cyclists and children,” he said.

One of the reasons for Tamil Nadu topping the accidents charts could be the usage of the Road Accidents Data Management System (RADMS) that ensures each and every case is recorded immediately and uploaded on a network.

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