Kerala has achieved remarkable performance in overall road safety by saving 1,488 lives on roads, reducing road accidents by 13,149, and injuries by 15,484 in 2020 as compared to the figures in 2019.
An overall reduction of 32% in road accidents, 33.5% in fatalities, and 33.6% in injuries was reported in 2020 as compared to 2019, as per the road accident statistics compiled by Technical Support Group of Kerala Road Safety Authority from data sourced from the State Crime Records Bureau.
The road accidents had dropped from 41,111 in 2019 to 27,962, fatalities from 4,440 to 2,952, and injuries sustained from 46,055 to 30,571. Law enforcers are elated over the dip in road accidents and fatalities, as they were under immense pressure from the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety and MoRTH to bring down road accidents by 50%.
In 2020, the highest of 3,953 accidents had been reported from Ernakulam district followed by 3,558 in Thiruvananthapuram district, 2,899 in Thrissur, and 2,295 in Kozhikode district. Ernakulam district had 6,282 road accidents, Thiruvananthapuram 5,222, Thrissur 4,462, and Kozhikode district 3,450 road accidents in 2019. The lowest of 461 road accidents in 2020 had been registered in Wayanad district.
In the case of fatalities due to road accidents that took place in January to December period in 2020, Thiruvananthapuram district tops the list with 371 deaths, followed by 322 in Ernakulam, 316 in Kollam, and 234 in Kozhikode district. The fatalities were 547 in Thiruvananthapuram district, 492 in Ernakulam, 440 in Kollam, and 381 in Kozhikode district in 2019. Wayanad reported 48 deaths, the least due to road accidents in 2020.
Ernakulam district also tops the list with 4,263 sustaining injuries as a result of road accidents during 2020. Thiruvananthapuram is behind with 3,761 sustaining injuries, Thrissur 3,239, and Kozhikode 2,450.
The highest number of 3,987 accidents and fatalities of 398 took place in January 2020 and the lowest of 439 road accidents and 52 deaths was in April 2020.
Joint Transport Commissioner Rajeev Putalath said the State had been able to maintain the trend in the decline in accidents and fatalities that began in November 2020 when the compounding fines for various offences by motorists were increased steeply.
“Along with this, the stern enforcement measures by the MVD and police had helped to bring down road accidents, increase use of headgear and seat belts, and curb overspeeding and drunk driving among the motorists. The less number of vehicles on the roads due to the pandemic-induced lockdown from March also was a factor for the dip in accidents,” he added.
