Our initiatives in preventing accidents have paid off: SP

‘District stands first in State in reduction of fatal accidents in January’

Prakasam SP Malika Garg overseeing functioning of police interceptor near Tangutur toll plaza in Prakasam district.

Fifty-year-old Koduri Jayaramulu, who lost his son Koduri Ramu in a fatal accident, was surprised when a team of police officials led by Superintendent of Police Malika Garg visited him at a Pottisubbaiahpalem, a remote village near Vetapalem in Chirala division.

The SP consoled the bereaved family members and gave a helmet to Mr. Jayaramulu for a safe ride. Now, Mr. Jayaramulu is at the forefront of an awareness campaign impressing upon motorcyclists to compulsorily wear the head gear to reduce fatality in accidents.

The targeted awareness programme has been taken up mainly in villages which has seen accidents recently. “There is generally an aversion towards wearing a helmet among villagers. Only by citing some real life examples can we can bring a change in their behaviour,” she explained in a conversation with

The Hindu .

The district police not only educated the public on the importance of wearing a helmet but also distributed these to the bereaved family members. The initiative has paid dividends, she said, as the district stood first in the State in reducing the number of fatal accidents in January. The number of fatal accidents registered in the district in January 2022 has come down by 21.43% and the deaths by 28.13% when compared to the figures during the corresponding period last year.

Since September 2021 when the police started the accident-related intervention, the rate of accidents has fallen by 22% and the number of deaths by 27%. Every Saturday, police personnel would be on the streets as part of the ‘No Accident Day’ initiative.

Another major initiative undertaken by the district police is the ‘Stop-Wash-Go’ on the Chennai-Kolkata expressway as also Addanki-Hyderabad highway in the wee hours as this is the time when most accidents take place, she explained. “We are strict in enforcing traffic rules and imposing hefty fines for various violations like overspeeding, triple riding, minor driving, overloading, drunken driving,” she added.

Overseeing deployment of interceptor vehicle near the Tangutur toll plaza, she said special speed lens guns had been installed at various places in the district. Bushes were cleared and potholes filled on roads in collaboration with other departments, she added.