B'luru 3rd on list of most accident-prone cities

Bengaluru is third on the list of cities with the most number of road accidents in the country.

According to The ‘Road Accidents in India-2016’ report, released by Union Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, 4,80,652 accidents occurred on Indian roads of which 1,50,785 persons were killed and 4,94,624 injured.

Chennai emerged as the city with the deadliest roads, with 7,486 accidents. Delhi came in a close second with 7,373 accidents and Bengaluru had 5,323 road accidents in which 835 persons were killed.

Reckless driving, flouting of traffic rules and drunk driving are some of the major reasons for the high number of road deaths and accidents. Going by the numbers provided in the report, on average 413 people are killed every day across India. This roughly translates to 17-18 people every hour.

The condition of roads in the city is one of the major problems. Roads dug up due to the TENDERSure projects, BWSSB pipe laying and incessant rains not only cause problems for motorists but also pedestrians alike.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), R Hithendra says new fines for traffic violations might bring the number of accidents down, but it is still in Parliament waiting to be passed. “Yes, accidents have gone up. Our main focus areas are two-wheelers and pedestrians, whose interests need to be safeguarded.”

Compared to 2015, 2016 saw an increase of 3.2% in the number of accident deaths across the country, despite the total number of accidents coming down by 4.1%. This year, Bengaluru has seen 419 deaths compared to 754 in 2016.

A Karnataka State Road Safety Authority (KSRSA) has been mentioned in the 2017-18 Karnataka Budget to reduce road accidents and increase road safety, but it is still to be passed by the Council. Kerala instituted the Road Safety Authority 10 years ago.

M N Sreehari, an urban transport expert, says accidents are mostly man made but the government also plays a role as they need to keep the infrastructure up to the mark. “They all talk and do no work, there is no dearth of money in the state/city too. All they have to do is develop and improve infrastructure.”

Transport Commissioner B Dayananda said once the KSRSA Bill is passed by the Council, it will have more funds.

“Once the KSRSA Bill is passed, it will have power of a statute and will be binding.” As of now, it functions as the Road Safety Council, which is an interdisciplinary body with members from the education, health and other departments.

DH News Service