Bengaluru is a motorist’s nightmare and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data confirms the same. The city has seen the highest number of deaths due to dangerous and reckless driving in the country.
Nearly 90 per cent of accidents reported in the city in 2014 were caused due to dangerous and reckless driving.
Of the 5,004 accidents in 2014, 4,482 were caused due to reckless driving.
These 4,482 incidents caused the death of 626 people, and 2,707 suffered injuries.
This is the highest in any mega city. Bengaluru is closely followed by Kolkata with 4,016 accidents caused by reckless driving.
“This only reflects the commuter culture in the city. Bengaluru motorists still have a long way to go before their driving skills reflect a global city they live in,” said M.N. Srihari, a traffic expert.
Though Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) M.A. Saleem agrees on the need to improve the commuter culture in the city, he had a different take on the issue.
“We book cases of reckless driving even for driving on the wrong lane or speaking on a mobile while driving. In other cities they don’t book cases of reckless driving for these offences,” he said.
List of violations Bengaluru City Traffic Police’s cases of dangerous and reckless driving include lane indiscipline, jumping traffic signals, overtaking from the left, driving in the wrong directions on a one-way street, not maintaining a safe distance between vehicles. However, it does not include overspeeding and drunken driving.
Number of accidents | No. of injured | No. of deaths | |
2014 | 5,004 | 4,098 | 729 |
National highways | 847 | 1,194 | 169 |
State highways | 266 | 261 | 34 |
Expressways | 24 | 6 | 4 |
Accidents on national highways (2015 till May 31)
Number of injured | Number of casulaties | |
Ballari Road | 122 | 26 |
Hosur Road | 107 | 26 |
Old Madras Road | 104 | 22 |
Accidents on national highways in Chennai (highest in the country)
National highways | 1,825 | 1,865 | 218 |
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