AHMEDABAD: Every week in 2019, an average two Gujaratis lost lives on the state roads which were ‘under construction / ongoing road works,’ according to the ‘Road Accidents in India 2019’ report by the ministry of road transport and highways earlier this week.
In all, 102 people lost their lives in accidents due to road-repair works which was about 25% up compared to 81 deaths in 2018. The state also recorded five deaths due to potholes last year, mentioned in the report.
In 2019, Gujarat recorded one road traffic accident every 30 minutes while five persons died in road accidents every six hours, according to ‘Road Accidents in India 2019’, a report by the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH).
The report stated that in the past four years, fatal road accidents in Gujarat went down by 9.2%. On the flip side, accident fatality or severity (deaths per 100 accidents) rose by 6.2% from 2016 to 2019.
In terms of number of accidents, Gujarat ranked 10th (first is worst) among Indian states, whereas it ranked 8th in road accident fatalities. Compared to 2018, accidents in the state fell by 9.2% whereas fatality was down by 7.6%. The state stood fourth and third respectively in reducing road accidents and fatalities compared to 2018.
The report stated that traffic control measures such as signals and the presence of police personnel helped reduce fatalities. In 2019, 46 deaths took place at crossroads with traffic signals, 141 where police were present, 54 due to jumped red lights and 22 due to jumped yellow lights. Fatalities due to violations fell, as in 2018 123 had died due to jumped red lights and 131 due to jumped yellow lights.
Amit Khatri, a city-based road safety expert, said the e-challan initiative may be one of the reasons for fewer road traffic accidents in city areas.