A special drive launched by the Prakasam Police to check road accidents in September has paid dividends as the district has recorded a 50% reduction in the number of fatal mishaps following education, engineering and law enforcement (3Es) measures taken during the drives on Saturdays, Superintendent of Police Malika Garg has said.
The steps taken included ‘Stop, Wash, Go’ programme in the wee hours.
The district recorded only 108 road accidents, including 28 fatal ones in September that left 29 dead and 133 injured. This was in contrast to the monthly average of 126 mishaps, including 53 fatal ones with 53 deaths and 143 people sustaining injuries in the first eight months of this year, the SP explained.
As a part of the ‘No Accident Day’ drive, the police imposed fines on motorists for violations of safety norms including not wearing seat belts, over-speeding, triple riding, minor driving, overloading, drunk driving and overcrowding of autorickshaws. The number of monthly traffic e-challans issued went up from 12,776 on an average in the first eight months to 39,813 in September only, she said. “As many as 55 black spots have been identified in the district and mapped. Interventions such as speed breakers and sign boards etc. undertaken to caution road users about the danger,” the SP said.
