278 died in accidents in Thoothukudi this year: SP

Call for safe driving; World Trauma Care Day observed

October 17, 2021 06:34 pm | Updated 08:35 pm IST - THOOTHUKUDI

SP S. Jayakumar distributes awareness pamphlets in Thoothukudi on Sunday.

SP S. Jayakumar distributes awareness pamphlets in Thoothukudi on Sunday.

Stressing the need for safe driving practices, Superintendent of Police S. Jeyakumar on Sunday said Thoothukudi district had recorded 278 deaths in road accidents till date this year against 344 deaths in 2020 and 378 deaths in 2019.

Speaking on World Trauma Care Day, organised by the Department of Emergency Medicine at Thoothukudi Government Medical College and Hospital, he said that though the number of fatal accidents might have fallen, the lives could have been saved, if they had followed road rules.

The Good Samaritan Law, which was introduced in 2014, was done to encourage the public, who rushed road accident victims to the nearest hospital, the SP said and added that police would not question the public, whoever saved the lives, or harass them to visit the police station. The objective was to save lives and whoever had been instrumental should be honoured and not harassed.

By following road rules, motorists could prevent accidents and also ensure that other road users, including pedestrians, were safe, while moving out in public space. Wearing seat belts for four-wheeler drivers and helmets for two-wheeler riders was mandatory.

The public should wear helmets and seatbelts on their own, Mr. Jeyakumar said and hoped that the coming years would see the district safe for motorists.

The doctors led by Resident Medical Officer Cylus Jeyamani, Medical Superintendent Rajendran, Surya Prabha and Prataban and Emergency Medicine Head Rajavel Murugan, among others, interacted with police officers at an interactive session.

The students also enacted a skit near VVD junction about the need for safe driving and the steps to be followed while rushing a victim to hospital.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.