Road fatalities in Tamil Nadu at 10-year low despite 150 per cent spike in traffic

CHENNAI: The number of accidental deaths in the State has plunged to a 10-year low in 2018, thanks to the combined efforts of various stakeholders. Between January and December 2018, a total of 12,216 people died in road accidents, 3,941 less than the previous year. “That is, when 44 people died every day due to road accidents in 2017, the numbers came down to 33 per day in 2018,” explains Transport Commissioner C Samayamoorthy.       

This, despite a whopping 150 per cent growth in vehicle traffic over the last 10 years. The number of vehicles grew from 1.07 crore in 2008 to 2.56 crore in 2018 (till March). The number of two wheelers increased from 82.6 lakh to 2.16 crore in the same period. Till 2017, the increase in road fatalities was directly proportional with growth in vehicular traffic. In 2018, however, it plunged by a massive 25 per cent.  

Samayamoorthy attributes the success to strict enforcement of traffic rules and combined measures taken by police, highway authorities and various other departments. “65 crore has been spent on improving road safety,” says the Commissioner. “We have identified accident-prone spots across the State and have taken temporary measures to reduce vehicle speed. As a result, accidents on highways have come down.”

On Wednesday, Express had reported that 96 black spots had been identified on the national highways along the State and NHAI, after getting repeated warnings from the State Road Safety Council, was finally gearing up to implement safety measures “108 Ambulance service has played a crucial role in bringing down fatalities post accidents,” says Samayamoorthy. “The health department has set up 75 trauma care centres along highways. As a result, time taken to reach hospitals has reduced from 13 to 10 minutes.”

Secret of success

Strict enforcement of rules to curb drunk driving, usage of mobile phones while driving and speeding have also helped reduce accidents. 2.24 lakh driving licences were suspended between Jan-Sept 2018.