Stress on abiding by road traffic rules

In 5,133 accidents, 621 persons were killed last year

On Deepavali, a pillion rider was thrown off a speeding motorcycle when the rider braked hard near Chamiers Road-Turnbulls Road junction.

People rushed to help the pillion rider, who had lost consciousness and was bleeding. Both the riders were not wearing helmets.

Such accidents have now become common on the city’s roads. Statistics for the last year show that more than 10 percent of road accidents recorded in the city were fatal.

In 5,133 accidents, 621 persons were killed last year and 1,749 people suffered grievous injuries, leading to loss of earning capability.

As part of programmes to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, observed on Sunday, the city witnessed to several awareness programmes.

One of them was by Alert, a non-governmental organisation run by a group of IT employees. The programme, which brought together the police and emergency medicine experts, sought to teach college students the importance of saving lives at the site of an accident.

Most victims of accidents are in their productive years and according to the State Crime Records Bureau, a majority of the accidents, fatal or otherwise, are caused by human error rather than poor road conditions or bad weather. Most of these could have been prevented if drivers had abided by road rules.

S. Suresh, founder of Youth Task Force, is launching a book on the fundamentals of road usage.

“Sparing one minute to learn the fundamentals of road usage will eliminate surrendering an entire life beneath the wheels,” he says.