A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli dealt with two cases in appeal against the orders of the Kerala High Court, in which the amount of compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) was reduced.
In the first case, the MACT awarded a compensation of Rs 26.75 lakh on January 30, 2017 to the kin of the deceased, who was a pineapple cultivator, after taking his base income as Rs 12,000 per month.
The high court reduced the income computed by the MACT from Rs 12,000 to Rs 10,000.
The bench said, "In the present case, the deceased was a pineapple cultivator. The accident took place on October 1, 2015. In such matters, a robust view has to be taken of the quantum of earnings since documentary evidence may not be available to specifically prove the quantum of earnings of a self-cultivating agriculturist."
The top court, in the order uploaded on its website recently, said in its view, the income of Rs 12,000 per month that was adopted by the MACT could not be regarded as "disproportionate or arbitrary".
"Hence, there was no justification for the high court to interfere with the award by reducing the quantum of income of the deceased from Rs 12,000 to Rs 10,000 per month," it said.
The apex court restored the total quantum of compensation of Rs 26.75 lakh and ordered that the balance due and payable to the family of the deceased shall be paid within a month together with interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum.
In another case, the MACT awarded a compensation of Rs 24.59 lakh to the family of the deceased, who was a carpenter, by taking his base income as Rs 15,000 per month.
The high court again reduced the income computed by the MACT from Rs 15,000 to Rs 10,000.
The bench said, "In the present case, the deceased was a carpenter. The accident took place on May 3, 2015. In such matters, a robust view has to be taken on the quantum of earnings since documentary evidence may not be available to specifically prove the quantum of earnings of a self-skilled worker."
It added that the income of Rs 15,000 per month that was adopted by the MACT could not be regarded as disproportionate or arbitrary and hence, there was no justification for the high court to interfere with the award by reducing the quantum of earnings of the deceased from Rs 15,000 to Rs 10,000 per month.
It said in view of the circumstances, it is restoring the total quantum of compensation of Rs 24.59 lakh and directed that the balance due and payable to the appellant (family members of the deceased) shall be paid within a month together with interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum.
The recent horrific bus accident at Kalinga ghati that left six dead and over 42 others injured has streamed fear among many. Even the tragic incident on April 17, 2016 at Gailo ghat is still afresh in the minds of many.
In the past 2 years, five accidents have been reported at Kalinga Ghat. Despite being an accident-prone zone, there is no signboard to alert the commuters while entering from Kandhamala and Bhanjanagar. Apart from that, the signboards installed in the midway have been damaged.
On the other hand, the dangerous and uneven road of Gailo Ghat with 25 turns is another accident-prone zone in Deogarh. The guard walls on this path are damaged. Though demands have been made to repair the guard walls and widen the roads, the appeals are falling on deaf ears.
Similar is the situation in Jeypore-Koraput ghat which witnesses several minor and major accidents in frequent intervals.
To curb the tragic road mishaps, NHAI has proposed a 6-lane tunnel to the Central Transport department estimating over Rs 600 crore.
While death cases are on surge in different tragic road mishaps, people and road safety experts have blamed the administration.
"Installing signboards throughout the path is essential to alert the drivers. The guard walls constructed on roadsides are very low and not enough," said a resident of Durgaprasad.
Similarly, a resident from Deogarh said, "The bus accident of a Jatra group claimed the lives of 27 persons. Innumerable accidents have taken place after that in which many have died. The road is quite uneven and narrow which needs to be widened and guard walls should be constructed."
Unabated road mishaps and the spike in death rates have turned into a major concern for the Odisha government. As per the Central government's Road accident in India 2020 report, in comparison to 2019, the death rates have reduced in 2022, however, during lockdown and shutdown even around 9817 accidents were reported. While different accidents in 2020 claimed over 4378 lives in Odisha, over 8822 were injured. Taking the figures into consideration, Odisha recorded 27 accidents a day and 12 persons died every day.
Using mobile phones while driving, drunken driving and speed driving claimed around 35% of lives.
"Strong infrastructure is essential to reduce road mishaps. Even there are many hospitals without any trauma centre to attend accident victims. Highway patrolling should be done dedicatedly," said Prakash Mohapatra, Road Safety Expert.
Meanwhile, State Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera has informed that Odisha is currently in 12th place in road accidents and assured that the state government aims to reduce 50% accidents.
"Speed driving, using mobile phones while driving and drunken driving are the major reasons behind major of the accidents. We have intensified checking and we aim to reduce the accidents by 50%," said Behera.
As per report Road accidents in India — 2020, prepared by Transport Research Wing (TRW) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the total number of road accident fatalities has declined for the second consecutive year in 2020. The number of persons injured has been on the decline since 2015.
The report highlights that total accidents decreased on an average by 18.46 per cent, the number of persons killed decreased by 12.84 per cent and the number of injures decreased by 22.84 per cent over previous year’s average. A total of 3,66,138 road accidents have been reported by States and Union Territories (UTs) during the calendar year 2020, which claimed 1,31,714 lives and caused 3, 48,279 injuries.
PIB in a release said that for the third consecutive year in 2020, the fatal road accident victims largely constitute young people in the productive age groups. Young adults in the age group of 18 - 45 years accounted for 69 per cent of victims during 2020. People in the working age group of 18 – 60 years share 87.4 per cent of total road accident fatalities.
As per report, there has also been a decline in the number of fatal accidents, i.e., accident involving at least one death. A total of 1, 20,806 fatal accidents were reported in 2020, which is 12.23 per cent lower than the 2019 figure of 1, 37,689. Interestingly, during 2020, National Highways, State Highways and Other Roads reported less number of accidents, fatalities and injuries as compared to previous year.
Major States that achieved a significant reduction in road accidents in 2020 are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. And the major States that achieved a significant reduction in road accident fatalities in 2020 are Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, the PIB release added.
A unique AI approach that uses the predictive power of AI to identify risks on the road, and a collision alert system to communicate timely alerts to drivers, is being implemented here with an objective of resulting in a significant reduction of accidents.
The project, 'Intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering' (iRASTE), will identify potential accident-causing scenarios while driving a vehicle and alert drivers about the same with the help of the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS).
It will also identify 'grey spots', i.e., by data analysis and mobility analysis by continuously monitoring dynamic risks on the entire road network. Grey spots are locations on roads, which left un-addressed, could become black spots (locations with fatal accidents). The system also conducts continuous monitoring of roads and designs engineering fixes to correct existing road black spots for preventive maintenance and improved road infrastructure.
The iRASTE project is under the I-Hub Foundation, IIIT Hyderabad, and a Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) set up in the technology vertical - Data Banks & Data Services - supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under its National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) along with INAI (Applied AI Research Institute).
The project consortium includes CSIR-CRRI, and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), with Mahindra and Intel as the industry partners.
The Hub is working to coordinate, integrate, and amplify basic and applied research in broad data-driven technologies as well as its dissemination and translation across the country.
Currently, talks are on with the Telangana government to adopt the technology in a fleet of buses that ply on highways. There are further plans to extend the scope of iRASTE to Goa and Gujarat as well.
I-Hub Foundation has also used techniques ranging from machine learning, computer vision and computational sensing for several other data-driven technological solutions in the mobility sector.
"One such solution is the India Driving Dataset (IDD), a dataset for road scene understanding in unstructured environments captured from Indian roads, which stands out by deviating from the worldwide assumptions of well-delineated infrastructure such as lanes, limited traffic participants, low variation in object," the official said.
Replying to supplementary queries during Question Hour, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government will soon implement a Rs 7,500-crore scheme with the help of the World Bank to address the problem and reduce accident-prone and black spots on national and state highways.
He sought the support of people in reducing accidents and saving precious lives.
Gadkari said it was unfortunate that 65 per cent of those dying every year were in the 18-45 age group.
"The government is very sensitive about this issue. We will soon implement a Rs 7,500-crore plan with the support of the World Bank across the country. We have urged the World Bank to implement this programme across the country.
"We will soon get cabinet approval on this scheme, which will help improve upon accident-prone and black spots on national highways and state roads," he told the House.
The minister said the scheme has been implemented in Tamil Nadu with the help of the World Bank where 50 per cent reduction in accidents and deaths has been noted.
"This is a very unfortunate subject. As many people do not die in war or Covid. Every year 1.5 lakh people die, we are the highest in the world. We have to work on it," Gadkari said.
The minister pitched for creating awareness, observance of rules, and improving road engineering and automobile engineering.
"We cannot work on this without the support of people and all including NGOs, educational institutions and people have to come forward in creating awareness about road accidents," he said.
He said states such as Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have helped reduce road accidents by around 50 per cent, while in places like Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Nagaland accidents have increased by 47 and 40 per cent respectively.
"The record of states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra is not good and needs to improve. Overall the country does not have a very good record," he said.
A PDS rice laden-truck overturned killing at least three people near Jodibaru in Baripada Sadar area of Mayurbhanj district. An elderly woman reportedly died on the spot while two others succumbed to the injuries at Baripada Medical, said sources. As many as six people have been injured in the tragic mishap.
In another incident, two people lost their lives after a pick-up van rammed into a motorcycle near Kapasara on national highway 26 in Bhawanipatna.
Police have seized the pick-up van after the accident while the driver of the vehicle is said to have absconded from the site of the mishap.
Meanwhile, a couple travelling to Soro in a car also met with a fatal accident when their vehicle hit a standing hyva truck loaded with sand on NH-16 near the Kalitra Mandir chhak in Barikpur area of Bhadrak.
The man driving the car is said to have sustained grievous injuries in the accident while his wife has died.
The last few days in Odisha have seen over a dozen road accident deaths raising questions on the awareness of people about road safety and proper traffic regulations.
Notably, at least six people were killed and many injured in a horrific bus accident near Bidu Chhak at Soro in Balasore district on Saturday. Similarly, a collision between an SUV and a truck on Mahanadi bridge in Sonepur district also led to the death of as many as five people.
Odisha government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each deceased in both the road mishaps.
Two persons died while three others were critically injured in a collision involving two motorcycles at Jharigaon Mehersahi of Nabarangpur.
One of the deceased has been identified as Jayram Shanta while identity of the other person is yet to be ascertained. The incident occurred when Jayram and his friends were returning after witnessing Ravana Podi utsav.
Three others, who were injured in the accident, have been admitted to district headquarters hospital.
In a separate incident, 18 people including 16 women were injured after a pick-up van they were travelling in overturned on National Highway no. 18 near Andharichhak under Kuliana police limits of Mayurbhanj district today.
Four out of the 18 injured have been admitted to Baripada hospital as they sustained multiple injuries.
All the injured are labourers and were travelling from Rasagovindpur area to Bisoi in the pickup van when the mishap occurred.
Two persons were critically injured after an ambulance turned turtle in Nayagarh. The injured were returning with the dead body of their relative from SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack to Dasapalla when the mishap took place, sources said.
Reports claimed that on an average 3-4 precious lives are lost every week with last year registering as many as 200 deaths in separate road mishaps in the Khurda-Balugaon stretch of NH – 16 and Khurda-Nayagarh stretch of NH – 57.
According to sources, the rate of accidents has increased in the last 10 days as the condition of the roads has deteriorated mainly because of huge potholes, rough patches, unmarked heaps of stones and boulders present on the road side.
There are no sign boards or reflectors installed on the road to alert commuters about the heaps of stones placed on the road side for construction works as a result of which motorists find it difficult to drive while passing through through the stretch and face accidents mostly at nights, sources added.
Meanwhile, local residents have held the administration responsible for the situation.
“Due to the callous attitude of the administration, many people have lost their lives in the national highway here between Balugaon and Bhubaneswar in the last two months. No steps have been taken by the administration to solve the issues,” said a local commuter, Bishnu Prasad Jena.
"During the recent monsoon people used to face lot of difficulties while travelling as it became difficult to gauge the depth of potholes filled with rainwater thereby posing a serious threat to their lives. The risk of mishaps increased during night hours," rued another commuter.
Similarly, the old defunct Gangapada toll gate which was shifted to Godipada area 2 years back has turned out to be a menace for commuters. Slabs, concrete and tiles often fall off the dilapidated structure posing a threat for daily commuters. It becomes more severe as new commuters due to lack of any road signal or traffic light during the night hours.
On the other hand, the abandoned toll office and store house situated close by have turned safe heaven for anti-socials. Miscreants operate from those houses and extort money from passers-by besides engaging in alcoholism, gambling and loot.
Local residents have demanded that the toll gate should be removed as it is of no use.
Meanwhile, Khurda collector, Nirmal Chandra Mishra said that the NHAI authorities have been asked to demolish the structure but they are yet to take any step. He further said the NHAI authorities will be reminded about the issue again.
On the other hand Bhubaneswar MP Prasanna Kumar Patasani, said, “I will inform the Commerce & Transport Minister and bring to the notice of concerned authorities to take necessary steps such that road mishaps could be minimised and precious lives are saved.”
They won’t give up,
their wont to confront.
We sway,
to keep away from affray.
We phew in eschew!
But they pursue our rescue!!!
Speed breakers, for some, seem to be an unwanted lot in every sense of the phrase. They bulge out like excess fat from the waistline of even the narrowest and malnourished roads. They are ever present and have rumpled the asphalt of time with their footprints.
Everyone sports them nowadays- cutting across the demographic asymmetries of roads. Highways have it, low-ways have it. Village roads vaunt it, pillaged roads flaunt it. Concrete roads relish it; in-concrete roads brandish it. Narrow roads brag it, fat roads wag it. They are everywhere and if one were to ask a common commuter- their mania is maniacal and rage an outrage to an extent exuding a feeling that those who don’t have it, they crave for it.
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Recently, we have been told by the establishment that a new generation of speed breakers will replace the old ones. They are called Rumblers.
They truly feel new generation in their new avatar. If the speed breakers of yesteryears felt like tumor on asphalt, these feel like a neat bandage on a recently acquired swelling. If the earlier ones were monochromatic, these are dichromatic in their black and yellow paint job and are neatly laid out in a pattern of symmetric quadrilaterals. In a fleeting ocular malfunction, they can be misunderstood as a chessboard made for and by the colour blind.
The government says that they are effective and to be honest we have to take their word for it.
The word rumbler, even in its enunciation and audition starts a sort of shudder in your larynx which trails off in your tympanic membrane. In flesh and blood they are even more cacophonous on our sensory faculties.
Though speed breakers are too purposeful to be hospitable one could feel the difference in hospitality like evading the jostle of a preventive custody and settling for a lathi charge.
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While the speed breakers feels like a violent rock to the cradle by a multi-tasking mother, rumblers toss one up in the air like an irate nanny. If one misses to spot a speed breaker, one ends up getting a slap on the face, while in case of rumblers one runs the risk of getting splattered on a wall as if fired from cannon. The marginal cost of heedlessness between both is profound.
But as pointed out at the beginning of the observation, heed them not, at your own risk. They man the roads braving everything under the sun, even ire of the living and the non-living.
Roads they man,
braving everything they can.
Taking everything in their stride,
for we have a safe ride!
The deceased have been identified as Kumar Chandan, Debashis Mishra and Parshuram Harichandan. All the three were reportedly residents of Bhubaneswar.
While Chandan was reportedly an Engineer, Debasish and Parshuram were Software Engineer and Merchant Navy Officer respectively.
As per reports, the deceased were travelling to Rasulgarh from Jaydev Vihar at a high-speed when the mishap occurred. The intensity of the collision was so high that the front portion of the car was completed damaged.
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Following the collision, the car even caught fire while the trio sustained burn injuries before they were rushed to Capital hospital by Saheed Nagar police. Later, all the three persons were declared brought dead by doctors on their arrival at the hospital.
Meanwhile, police have reportedly started an investigation in connection with the incident.
In the first incident, three persons were killed and 35 left injured after a pickup van carrying labourers turned turtle at Mangalpur chhak near Mahakalpada in Kendrapara district. All the injured were initially rushed to district headquarters hospital. Later eight persons were shifted to Cuttack SCB Medical College and Hospital after their condition deteriorated. Sources said the pickup van was carrying labourers to Pattamundai for work.
Similarly, one person was killed while more than 25 sustained injuries after a bus enroute to Bhubaneswar hit a stationary truck near Bataharichandanpur in Ghatgaon. The private bus named Swastik was travelling from Barbil. Four persons who were severely injured in the mishap have been shifted to Cuttack SCB.
In the first incident, a woman and son were mowed down by a car near BadamalaChhak in Jharsuguda while crossing road. The mishap victims were identified as Sujata Buda (27) and son Surya Buda (7). Both of them died on the spot following the accident.
Police have detained the driver and seized the vehicle.
Similarly, two persons were killed after two bikes collided head on in Sunabeda of Koraput district. The deceased have been identified as Suresh Samant of Jatapadar and Tapas Sethi of the district. Condition of another person injured in the mishap is stated to be critical.
In the third incident, two persons died while one was left critically injured when a truck hit a bike near Phetcol petrol pump on NH-143 in Rourkela.
In a series of accidents, a speeding truck first hit a Bolero from behind which in turn mowed down a woman pedestrian near Badaposh Chhak on Biju Expressway under Kutra police limits Sunday morning. Five others, who were travelling in the Bolero, have also received critical injuries in the mishap.
The deceased woman, Kalestika Sorang, has been identified to be a resident of nearby village. Soon after the incident, palpable tension prevailed in the area as locals blocked the Biju Expressway demanding compensation for the family of the deceased.
However, the blockade was later removed after officials of district administration rushed to the spot and assured compensation for the kin of the deceased woman.
Getting information, police also rushed to the spot, recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem.
In another incident, one person was critically injured while six others sustained minor injuries after a speeding truck rammed into a bus from behind near Darjing under Lahunipara police limits in the district today. The accident took place when the bus was enroute to Sundergarh from Jangula, sources said.
According to information, the army Jawan identified as Laxmi Rout of Brundabahal village died on spot after a head-on collision between two bikes on a bridge over Tel River near Golamunda of Kalahandi district.
Rider of the other bike, left critically injured in the mishap was rushed to the Dharamgarh hospital.
Rout had come home on leave and was on his way to attend the wedding of a relative at Dharamgarh when the accident occurred.
In another incident, four people including a child were seriously injured after the auto-rickshaw they were travelling in overturned on Tere Naam Ghati near Bhatangpadar in Bhawanipatna.
Sources said the driver lost his control over the auto as the vehicle skid off the road and overturned.
Padhi, revealed the information after attending a review meeting on road safety at the State Secretariat here.
It may be noted that the Supreme Court in 2015, had directed all States ensure 10 percent decrease in road accident by 2020. However, Odisha has registered a rise in accidents in the last three months
“In the first quarter, the number road accident related deaths have gone up to 169, - 14 per cent more than that of last year. The rate of road accidents in 10 districts of the State including Kandhamal and Gajapati is higher than that of the State average,” Padhi said adding that it is a worrisome trend.
To meet the target set by the apex court, the Chief Secretary has been holding regular meetings through video conference with all district Collectors, he informed.
“Police stations have been given additional authority to control road mishaps. Cops have been asked to collect fines from traffic rule violators through e-Chalan Moreover, license of 5,000 drivers has been cancelled during the last three months,” Padhi pointed out.
The meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi was attended by DGP RP Sharma and secretaries of various departments. Collectors of different districts also joined the meeting through video conferencing.
Through a video conferencing, Padhi held discussions with all the District Collectors, SPs and RTOs and directed them to formulate an action plan and enforce traffic laws in every nook and corner of the state to reduce the number of road accidents.
This apart, the state government has decided to launch an extensive drive to keep a close watch on the vulnerable zones as well as strengthen enforcement of road safety laws and traffic rules in urban and rural areas.
As per sources, of the 15 states where accidents and accidental deaths have risen, Odisha's Bargarh, Puri and Jharsuguda have witnessed accidents with increased frequency.
Transport Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi said, "The chief secretary gave ample importance for carrying out enforcement in the village areas apart from the urban areas. Helmet checking will now be done strictly in all places as 35 per cent of total accidental deaths reported are of persons riding two-wheelers."
Similarly, we have prepared a module to include road accidents in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) data available in each police station, the Commissioner added.
As per sources three persons were killed when the bike they were travelling on dashed a tree on roadside at Pattapathar under Thakurgarh police station in Angul district. The deceased have been identified as Kathi Dalei and Paramananda Dalei of Pedipathar village and Kalia of Sindurakala village. The incident took place when the trio was returning to Pedipathar from Athamallick.
Tension prevailed in the area following the incident as angry locals staged a road blockade on Athamallick-Bainda road demanding compensation for the families of all deceased. On receiving information, police have rushed to the spot to pacify the mob.
In another incident, two persons died after a potato-laden truck hit a tree at Kachera Sahi under Fatehgarh police limits in Nayagarh district last night. The driver of the truck absconded following the incident.
Meanwhile, police have seized the dead bodies and begun investigation into the incident.
The trio, residents of Suapadara village under Ghasipura block in the district, was on the way to Ghatgaon Tarini temple on a bike for darsan when a trailer truck rammed them near Kolimati on NH-20.
"Dinabandhu was still breathing when we reached the spot. We called for ambulance service but it took over 45 minute to reach the spot," alleged one local.
The road construction agency is solely responsible for the accident. Several accidents have occurred on this road due to the continuous delay in completing the road works. The district administration must take stringent action against the agency, said another local.
Till last report came in, police were yet to reach the spot.
https://youtu.be/R5ggqFvZ3Xw
"No precautionary measures have been taken by the district administration to minimise number of road accidents. Traffic rules should be strictly enforced as most of the mishaps occur due to rash driving. Besides, special drive should be undertaken to create awareness among commuters," said Sudhakar Pandey, a local.
"Proper safety measures should be taken during construction of roads. Most of the times, bikers take wrong route and meet with accidents," Sundergarh RTO Ramnibesh Sirika said.
SP Pinak Mishra promised that police will intensify more awareness programmes for the commuters. "Drunken driving and over speeding are major causes of accidents. Driving on wrong lane especially by bikers is also another reason. We have taken several awareness campaigns and will intensify them for public in future," Sundergarh SP Pinak Mishra said.
According to sources, the district witnessed a rise in number of deaths due to accidents in 2017 in comparison to previous year. It had registered 318 mishaps last year in which 199 people were killed and 372 injured. In 2017, 210 casualties were reported in 325 mishaps while 313 people sustained injuries.
https://youtu.be/18imkIHFutI
As per reports, all the passengers were traders. They were on the way to Duburi market in the area when the driver lost control over his vehicle and collided with a truck.
While three of them died on the spot, one succumbed to injuries in hospital. The injured five, including the driver, are undergoing treatment at Jajpur government hospital.
The condition of the injured is stated to be critical and they are expected to be shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, said sources.
Meanwhile, the truck driver fled the spot after the mishap. Police have seized the truck and started investigation.
https://youtu.be/NzIQhkODW6g
Bhubaneswar: With enforcement topping the State government’s list of steps to prevent fatalities due to road accidents, over-speeding could attract cancellation of driving licences as well as imprisonment for motorists found guilty.
With a spike in road accidents in several districts, Odisha Chief Secretary chaired a video conference with collectors, RTOs and SP and directed the concerned authorities to take steps to prevent road mishaps.
Statistics pertaining to the period January-August 2017 presented during the meeting revealed that on an average 13 persons were killed in road accidents in the State daily.
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In 2016, a total of 3,300 people died in road accidents in Odisha. As compared to last year, road accidents increased in as many as 11 districts, out of which the situation in Koraput, Keonjhar, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Jajpur and Balasore districts has been a cause of concern, informed sources.
“We discussed the measures that could be taken to prevent the fatalities due to road accidents. We have to focus on all the aspects from road engineering, enforcement to traffic education. There is a need for stricter action against over-speeding,” said DGP RP Sharma, who was also present in the meeting.
https://youtu.be/1YvSkEW6CJw
According to reports, in the first eight months of 2017, the state has recorded 7228 number of accidents with 3184 deaths which is approximately 2.55 per cent and 5.71 per cent more as compared to the 7084 accidents with 3020 deaths in the first eight months of 2016.
Keonjhar district tops the list with 215 deaths in 393 accidents, while Khurda district has recorded 594 cases with as many as 212 fatalities in the first eight months.
Reports further said, till now, only 741 out of the total proposed 2008 places on National Highways have been deployed with traffic personnel and in other places only 1994 junctions have been deployed with traffic personnel out of the 3703 required.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has expressed its unhappiness at poor enforcement of traffic laws in the state. Reports said 73 per cent fatalities occurred due to over speeding in 2015 but the State took action for suspension of Driving Licence of only 15.7 per cent (1917 suspended out of 12247 of over speeding cases detected).
On the other hand, overall suspension of DL is only 25.3 per cent of cases detected. Of the 1,84,221 detected offences which are liable for suspension, only 66,600 DLs were suspended from September 2015 to 2017, which is 36.15 per cent of the offences detected.
Considering high fatalities due to road accidents, a Committee was formed under Juctice Radhakrishen by the Supreme Court to review and suggest improvements to reduce fatalities.
In 2016, there was a 3.71 percent increase in fatalities in Odisha compared to 2015. The Committee had also directed to reduce the number of fatalities by 10 percent in 2017.
However, reports claimed that during January to September 2017, there has been a steep rise in fatalities by 5.71 per cent compared to the corresponding period of 2016.
It has been alleged that although instruction for joint inspection of fatal accident spot has been given by appropriate authorities, it is not being implemented at field level.
Problems spotted:
1. Shortage of manpower in STA and RTAs apart from ever increasing work load.
2. Inadequate staff in the Lead Agency to follow up and analyse the reports.
3. Post of Addl. Commissioner Transport (Enf) in the rank of DIG vacant since long in STA
4. Enforcement activities need to be augmented by creating more field level posts of constables and TSIs.
5. Automated driving Testing System (ADTS) to replace manual testing.
Solutions:
The deceased have been identified as Sushil Nayak, Tapan Samant and Nrupa Kumar Samant of Kaleiposha village under Luhunipara police limits.
"The trio had gone to Chandarpur to watch an opera. In the morning today, some villagers informed us about the accident," said Basant Majhi, a relative of one of the deceased.
Meanwhile, police have seized the motorcycle and registered a case in connection with the incident.
"Our investigation to trace the unidentified vehicle and its driver is on," said a police official.
Also Read: 3 killed, 5 injured in road accident
https://youtu.be/-UF01Iox-nY
A man died and two others sustained grievous injuries in a freak accident after the trio was hit by a trawler while they were out on a morning walk near Kurmipada in Belpahar of Jharsuguda district this morning.
The trawler was headed to Chhattisgarh when it hit the trio from behind, sources said. Following the accident, the driver of the trawler managed to flee.
While one of them died on the spot, two others who were also hit by the trawler were rushed to Belpahar hospital where they are reportedly undergoing treatment.
In another accident, a Class 3 girl student was critically injured near Badala Sahi under Purunakatak police limits of Boudh district. She was hit by a Tata Ace when she was on her way to school. The girl has been identified as Rinki Nayak.
Rescued, she was immediately rushed to Purunakatak Hospital where she is undergoing treatment.
Protesting the accident and demanding compensation, locals have blocked the National Highway 57.
In Bolangir district, a passenger bus named ‘Sriram’ rammed into a dumper truck on NH-57 near Puintala area of the district leaving eight persons injured.
The bus was on its way to Patnagarh from Badamba town of the district.
The eight injured have been admitted to Bolangir District Headquarters Hospital.
Similarly, one person died and 15 were critically injured in another bus accident on NH-16 near Talanagar village under Soro block in Balasore district on Tuesday.
According to sources, a Bhubaneswar–bound private bus named ‘Dolphin’, coming from Kolkata, crashed into a potato laden truck that was parked at the side of the road due to technical snag.
Meanwhile, another bus ‘Parameswar’ dashed into the right part of the Dolphin bus leaving as many as 15 people injured in the road mishap.
As per latest reports, two persons who are said to be critical have been shifted to Cuttack for further treatment.
Three persons died while six others were injured in near Kurumakari after a Bolero vehicle in which they were travelling was hit by a speeding bus.
Similarly, a woman and her sister-in-law were killed while her brother was critically injured in a road accident at Balugaon Naval Chhak near Khurda. The victims were travelling in a two wheeler when a trailer hit them from behind, sources said.
The identities of the victims are yet to be ascertained while police investigation has started into both the accidents.
The Chief Secretary informed about the decision following a meeting with the Union Transport secretary. Moreover, another flyover bridge will also come up at Gohira Square near Khurda.
“We had requested for two flyovers at Khandagiri and Gohiria near Khurda and today we had discussions on the same after which they agreed to sanction both the projects. They will sanction the flyovers by April and soon thereafter work will begin,” said Padhi.
Commenting on the various projects and progress in Odisha, Union Transport Secretary, Sanjay Mitra said, “There are some genuine issues and people are involved in many cases and then there are laws regarding to environment and forests. But we are very happy that Odisha government has given us all possible for the last many years and the program on National Highways in Odisha is one of the best in the country.”
According to sources, the government has decided to remove all speed breakers from National and State Highways in a month and replace them with rumblers within a month. The government hopes that this step will help prevent road accidents.
Moreover, an awareness drive will be conducted for drivers and in case of over speeding and overloading provisions have been made to seize the vehicle and cancellation driving licenses.
Sources informed that all these steps will be implemented within a month following which a review meeting will be held to take stock of the situation.
“We have observed that 72% deaths due to road accident below the age of 45 and 63% of the victims are between 21-44 age group. Keeping in mind the accidents in Angul and other places we are working towards creating awareness among the drivers. We have asked the National Highway and Public Works department authorities to replace the speed breakers with rumblers through which such accidents can be stopped. We have decided to complete all these within a month,” said Transport minister Ramesh Majhi.
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Notably, data suggests that 98% of the road accidents occur on account of driver's irresponsibility. While, 39% of the accidents happen due to over speeding, 36% occur due to overloading and 9.31% due to drunken driving.
“The drivers who arrive at a bus stand have no place to stay. We have asked the government to provide a room with air conditioning at every bus terminals across the State,” said President of the private bus owners association, Devendra Sahoo.
“The State government should many bays within a distance of around 20 KM for parking trucks. The NHAI authorities have already agreed for such an arrangement,” said State truck owners association general secretary Ravi Satpathy.
In Kendrapara district, a man was killed when a private bus hit his bike at Barimul Chhak under Pattamundai police limits.
In Ganjam district, a biker was killed when a truck hit him at Kalyanpur Chhak under Digapahandi police limits while a cyclist was run over by a speeding truck at Haladiapadar Chhak under Golanthara police limits in the district. Besides, a pedestrian was killed after he was run over by a sand-laden truck near Badanadi river bed at Aska in the district.
In Puri district, a youth was killed after a speeding bike hit his bike from behind at Sarbapada Chhak under Nimapada police limits. Reports said the deceased, identified as Bijay Khadei, had gone to his sister’s house at Balidokana village near Konark to give her the Sabitri Bhara. While on the way to his house, a speeding bike coming from Konark, hit his bike killing him on the spot.
The two other youths—Ankit Swain and Abhishek Parichha—of CDA area of Cuttack, who sustained minor injuries in the accident were rushed to Nimapada hospital. The body of the deceased was sent to Chari Chhak hospital for post mortem.
In Sambalpur, a man was killed when a speeding truck hit the Scooty he was driving near Aditya Kalyan Mandap at Dhanupalli Chhak. Police has detained the truck and the driver.
A Constitution bench of five-judge headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra reserved verdict on the bunch of 27 petitions, including one filed by the National Insurance Company Limited challenging an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The bench, which also include Justice A. K. Sikri, Justice A. M. Khanwilkar, Justice D. Y. Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan, observed that there is need of laying down principles after considering future career prospects of private employment and self-employed people in awarding accidents claims.
The court, dealing with the questions whether principle of future prospect applied on private employees and self-employed people or not, observed that lawyers, who are generally self employed, mostly rise in the career during the age of 50 to 70 years.
It noted the same criteria applies for the future career prospects of chartered accountants and doctors.
The court said it would mull over the issue whether "some standard threshold" amount can be fixed under the head of "future prospects" while awarding compensation to the dependents of the accident victims under the Motor Vehicles Act.
The court also noted that law teachers, after retirement, get jobs in private law colleges as it said additional evidence may be led before the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) while seeking enhancement on the ground of future prospects.
The MACT deal with claims relating to loss of life, property and injury cases resulting from motor accidents. The compensation is awarded to the victims by using the methodology provided in the statute itself.
While claiming compensation, victims have to cite documents related to age and income.
In his monthly 'Maan Ki Baat' radio programme, Modi said: "The statistics on road accidents in our country are shocking. There is an accident every minute. And... there is a death every four minutes."
In view of this, the government would soon introduce a Road Transport and Safety Bill in parliament and work to implement the National Road Safety Policy and a Road Safety Action Plan, he said.
The prime minister said there would soon be a nationwide toll free number 1033 to provide information on accidents across the country.
Official statistics show 15 to 16 people in road accidents in the country every hour or nearly 380 every day. The daily toll includes 16 children.
A total of 137,000 people became road accident victims in 2013.
The prime minister also said that development of the country's northeast was not possible with officials sitting in Delhi. He vowed to depute officials to the region to find solutions to problems faced by the people.
"Is it possible to develop the northeast while sitting in Delhi? No. Officials will visit and see how it is to be done.
"The DoNER (Development of Northeastern Region) ministry has taken a significant decision to send teams of central government officials to the northeast and hold week-long camps there," he said.
The ministry is responsible for planning, executing and monitoring the central government's development schemes in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Mizoram, Sikkim and Meghalaya.
"These teams will hold camps in districts and villages, meet local officials, people's representatives and citizens. They will listen to their problems and help the government to find their solutions."
In his talk, Modi praised efforts made towards keeping India clean.
He congratulated government officials from Harda district in Madhya Pradesh for their 'Malyudh' (a sanitation programme).
"They have given a new meaning to 'Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan'. A brother gifting his sister a toilet on 'Raksha Bandhan', and the one who does so becoming 'brother number one' has given a new direction to the (cleanliness) mission," he said.
Speaking on issues like electricity, Modi said his government was committed to providing power to all villages.
"Whatever facilities are provided in cities, similar facilities are required for people in villages too if we have to develop our nation," he said.
Modi also expressed concern that fewer students were taking up science at the higher education level.
"Out of 100 only one or two students take up science. It's a cause of concern," the prime minister said, adding that students must be encouraged to study the subject.
Residents in the port town continue to face acute traffic problems due to shortage of staff and alleged mismanagement by the concerned authorities.
“Many a times we see blatant violation of traffic norms like overloading of goods, open transporation of coal leading to pollution in the city. Neither the police nor the administration is concerned about it,” said a local Debaprasad Mandal. While the traffic posts are remaining vacant for several hours in a day, locals have alleged that the administration has failed miserably in dealing with the situation.
“There seems to be no traffic rules at all because one can easily see trucks standing on the roads round the clock due to which a major portion of roads are not available for free movement of vehicles leading to traffic jam and accidents,” another local resident Sagar Kumar Jena said.
Similarly, locals are also a disgruntled lot as vehicles travelling on the national highway are being allowed to ply without going through any checking.
Residents have alleged that despite formation of a special task force for vehicle inspection on NH two years ago, it is yet to be functional.
However, Additional Collector Kanchu Charna Dheer said that the traffic task force is active and vehicle inspection and traffic management is being undertaken smoothly.
On the other hand Jagatsinghpur RTO Inspector Prasant Kumar Mohapatra said, "The traffic management and other allied issues is a joint responsibility of police and RTO. We are also implementing collector’s orders at other places wherever required as per availability of our staffs."
According to sources, two persons were killed after their bikes collided near Balitutha-Nuagaon road in Paradip. The deceased have been identified as Subash Rout of Marshaghai area of Kendrapara and Rabindra Lenka of Ersama area in Jagatsinghpur.
Another person, riding pillion on one of the bikes, was critically injured during the accident and has been admitted to Cuttack SCB Medical College and Hospital.
In a separate incident, an elderly man was run over by a vehicle at Samantarapur under Itamati police limits in Nayagarh early morning today. The deceased has been identified as Jogi Palei of Kestapada village under Netar panchayat who worked as a painting worker.
Following the incident, tension erupted in the area as locals staged road blockade by burning tyres demanding compensation for the kin of the deceased.
Shockingly, reports have claimed that maximum mishaps occurred due to reckless driving, and in many other cases faulty road designs were found to be equally responsible for the mishaps.
Reports revealed that 4,900 persons died in road accidents in 2016-17 in Odisha while the number went up to 5,300 in 2018 raising questions on the impact of various road safety programmes by the government on the citizens.
The Commissionerate Police recently launched various programmes in the twin cities to mark the 30th National Road Safety Week which began on Monday. During this week, thrust will be on creating awareness on traffic rules in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, said Police Commissioner Satyajit Mohanty.
The CP had earlier identified various black spots in Bhubaneswar, and has now come forward to create awareness on road rules and traffic regulations among the students and drivers in the smart city.
The Commissioner said, "Education, engineering and enforcement are the three things necessary for monitoring the number of road mishaps as well as the fatalities."
As per reports, more than 350 road accidents occur every year in Cuttack. Sources said Madhupatna Chhak and Sikharpur area in the city have registered the most number of mishaps last year. Locals also alleged that despite repeated demands for expansion of the road near Madhupatna Chhak and a flyover in Sikharpur to check accidents in the area, the administration is yet to take any concrete steps in this regard.
"Accidents have become a common affair in Sikharpur. The concerned authorities have been assuring us about the bridge here but it's been around seven years, but the construction work for the same hasn’t started yet," alleged a resident of Cuttack, Janardan Nayak.
On the other hand, Cuttack Traffic ACP, PK Dalai said, "Maximum accidents occur due to rash driving and negligence while driving. As road mishaps occur only due to careless driving, this can be rectified."
Sanjay Nayak of Sahajbahal area in Sundergarh district is a teacher by profession. After three years of handwork and lot of research, Nayak has invented a ‘smart helmet’.
The 'smart helmet' has three types of sensors which ensure that the two-wheeler will start only if the rider has worn a helmet. Besides, the accident sensor in the helmet will send SMS to 16 persons in case the driver meets any accident.
Sanjay has developed the smart helmet at a cost of Rs 4,200.
“Many people are driving motorcycles without helmets which is the main reason behind the maximum number of casualties in road mishaps. And in order to check the deaths due to accidents, I have developed the smart helmet,” said Sanjay.
Sundergarh Mobile Veterinary Officer (MVO), Ramdas Tudu said, “Similar helmets were also invented by many people but Sanjay's smart helmet has alcohol sensor and GPS tracking system. If this helmet is used by the bikers, this will definitely decrease the number of two-wheeler accidents.”
Another youth from Cuttack, Santosh Kumar Dalai has also become the talk of the town for inventing battery-powered scooter named ‘Folding Scooter’.
The device weighs around 15 kg and can be taken anywhere with ease. The scooter completely runs on power fueled by batteries. The folding scooter can cover a distance of 18-20 kilometres after it is charged for two hours, reports said.
An employee at Odisha State Maritime Museum in Cuttack, Santosh has created the ‘Folding Scooter’ by assembling some parts of motorbike, cycle and trolley rickshaw.
“I was thinking to create some handy device which I can carry while travelling in bus. The vehicle can be folded and I am trying to develop it so that it can run without charge by adding turbine technology,” said Santosh.
“He has done a remarkable job. We believe that Santosh will do wonders if but if he gets any monetary assistance from sponsors and State government," said Caretaker of Odisha State Maritime Museum, Amarjit Sen.
In Nayagarh, 12 persons were injured after a head-on collision between two cars near Kaliapada area under Daspalla Police limits in the district. Sources said, the victims were heading towards Hatasahi in Daspalla after attending a marriage function at Kantilo when the mishap occurred.
All the injured were rushed to Daspalla Community Health Centre (CHC) where they are currently undergoing treatment; condition of seven victims are stated to be critical.
Meanwhile, police have initiated a probe into the incident.
In another mishap, nine persons suffered injury after the vehicle they were travelling in overturned at Sunapal Chaak near Udala block in Mayurbhanj district.
As per reports, the vehicle carrying wedding band party members was returning to Athapada from Udala. The injured were initially rushed to Udala hospital by the locals and later two of them were shifted to Baripada hospital as their condition deteriorated.
https://youtu.be/RZ9x7nTa1pk
On getting information Udala Police reached the spot and launched an investigation into the incident.
In Balasore, five persons were injured after a bike was hit by a speeding SUV near Kanthalia Chhak in Jaleswar area.
The injured were initially rushed to Jaleswar hospital by the locals and later two of them were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) as their condition deteriorated.
In fact, speed is the prime culprit behind the road accidents, as nearly 60 per cent road accidents took place on straight roads, the Y-and T-junctions in the State.
Moreover, when four in every ten accidents in the State are due to overloading or overcrowding or load protruding, and another around three per ten accidents are due to vehicular defects, the current checking done by the State police hardly cater to these salient safety aspects.
As per reports, in the backdrop of new MVA, the State Police are seemingly making easy targets like not wearing helmets or having DLs (Driving Licenses) etc, though it has also been observed that the police at places are using breath analysers to curb the menace of drunk driving, which is a big cause behind road accidents in the State.
Why the salient aspects that could curb road accidents are utmost necessary for the State? Because, in every 100 accidents, around 53 lives were cut short in the State against the national average of mere 29. And the deaths due to road accidents accounted for a high of over 12 persons per lakh population in 2018.
According to the 2018 road accident statistics available with the State Transport Department, nearly 33 per cent of total road accidents were due to defects in vehicles like defective brakes or steering, punctured/burst/bald tyres, etc. And another whopping over 41 per cent were due to overloading/overcrowding or load protruding. The proportion of accidents following over speeding is estimated at around 26 per cent.
However, drunk driving accounts for little over 1 per cent of the total accidents.
So, when the State Transport Department has such critical statistics, it's high time on the part of the Road Transport Offices (RTOs) and traffic police to go for checking such vital safety aspects invoking the amended MVA 2019. Because, data showed this can prevent nearly 80 per cent of road accidents in the State.
This seems all the more essential for the State as the year 2018 saw a rise in fatalities by a massive 525 vis-a-vis the year 2017, which is fourth highest rise in the country.
To draw their pound of flesh, vested groups, including Motor Vehicles Owners Association and some political parties, have started demanding for a complete roll back.
The need of the hour was a calibrated approach to entire gamut of MVA 2019, rather than roll back or moratorium. Because, the fatalities on roads in Odisha had grown by a massive 51 per cent between 2014 - 2018. A total of 3,506 fatalities were recorded in 2014 in Odisha, which jumped to 5,315 in 2018.
The black spot for the State is, accident deaths have increased by 13 percent in the first five months of Jan-May 2019 with a total toll of 2,532 vis-a-vis 2,238 in 2018.
And the detailed data available with the State Transport Department looks more devilish.
While deaths due to accidents involving trucks/HCVs (heavy commercial vehicles) corner around 32.3 per cent of total fatalities on roads, two-wheelers account for another 32.4 per cent. And the toll in autorickshaw-related accidents account for another 4 per cent.
The State Transport Department data shared with the Apex court's Committee on Road Safety reveals that more than half of the vehicles involved in the fatal accidents were around 10-15-years old. And the drivers on learner's licence were responsible for majority of fatal accidents in the State.
High speed or competitive speed to overtake took around 81 per cent of the fatality burden. Besides, data showed how better traffic management involving regulation of speed of vehicles could have worked wonders for the State when over 51 per cent of fatalities occurred in uncontrolled areas last year.
Moreover, the analysis revealed that nearly 6,548 accidents happened either during overtaking, overturning or traffic negotiations.
Also, a whopping 68 per cent accident could have been minimised had there been a regulation on the speed of the vehicles, finds the analysis.
More startling facts: Odisha is 3rd nationally in recording accidents where mobile phones proved to be the killer cause. Added to this, single lanes in Odisha shared the most burdens as they recorded a big 54 per cent of fatality on roads over the years.
Neither any MV Act nor any of the public awareness campaigns has done any good for the motorists who meet with horrifying accidents on the deadly highway more often than not.
The infamous highway has witnessed many untimely deaths owing to the accidents that had happened on that stretch over the years. The most high-profile of them being the case of the then district Agriculture Additional Director, Manoranjan Mallik who was on his way to Boudh on the fateful day of 24th January 2019 when the car he was travelling in crashed into a tree at Radhanagar square killing him and his associates on the spot. Not only him, the then Collector of Boudh, Ramakant Sethi also lost his life in a road mishap on August 26, 2019 on the same highway.
The district administration has marked the accident prone areas of the NH as the Black Spots to alert the motorists on the move, but so far it has turned out to be a blooper as the count of accidents kept piling up.
Expressing his deep concerns over the situation, Biswanath Mohapatra, a resident of Boudh said, “Drunken driving and riding without helmets seem to be the main cause behind these accidents. Though the RTO has tried many times to aware people on road safety but no one cares.”
“Another major reason could be the road engineering. The curvy roads with all blind spots on the highway also seem to causing discomfort for motorists,” added Biswanath.
Speaking to OTV, Boudh Superintendent of Police, Raghunath Rao said, “We have arrested 101 offenders on charges of drunken driving and forwarded them to the court in last two months. We are conducting routine awareness programmes in the district and hope to reduce the accident count soon.”
On the recent announcement by Odisha Transport department to install CCTV cameras to keep a tab on the offending motorists on the national highway stretch from Khurda to Chandikhol, concerned locals of Boudh have also demanded the authorities to set up such an Integrated Highway Management System.
State Transport Minister Padmanabh Behera has assured that he will personally devise and supervise plan in collaboration with Works Department to curb the accidents and ensure that no more life is lost there.
As per reports, a bus ferrying passengers from Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra to West Bengal collided with a gas tanker near Luhamunda under Handapa Police limits on NH-44 in Angul district, leaving one person dead and 12 others injured.
The tanker driver lost his life in the accident while the injured persons have been rushed to nearby hospital for treatment.
The bus was reportedly bringing back around 24 residents of West Bengal who had gone to TATA Memorial Cancer Hospital in Mumbai for treatment. All of them were stranded there since enforcement of COVID-19 lockdown.
In another incident, a truck driver was killed his vehicle collided head-on with a bus near Panapana in Balasore district this morning. The driver of the bus who sustained grievous injuries in the mishap has been rushed to Balasore hospital. He is stated to be critical now.
Reports said the private bus was returning to Bhubaneswar after deboarding migrants in Kolkata when it met with accident near Panapana today.
Meanwhile, a migrant worker was killed after an iron-plate laden truck ran over him near Uliapatna under Khantapada police limits of Balasore district. The driver of the truck lost balance over the wheels reportedly after a tyre burst.
The driver has also been injured in the mishap and sent to nearby hospital for treatment.
Similarly, three persons sustained critical injuries after a truck and a bike fell off Duarsuni Ghat following head-on collision on National Highway- 49 in Mayurbhanj district today. The two injured motorists hail from Bisoi area of the district while the third injured is the truck driver of Nasik area in Maharashtra. All the three have been shifted to Baripda Hospital for treatment, added reports.
Police and fire personnel rushed to the spot after getting information from the locals and launched a rescue operation.
Late last night, at least 10 Odia migrants were badly hurt when the bus ferrying them from Tamil Nadu met with an accident near Tangi area in Cuttack district. The bus was reportedly enroute to Bhadrak district when the mishap occurred.
(Edited By Devbrat Patnaik)
During 2019, a total of 4,37,396 cases of road accidents were reported which left 4,39,262 persons injured and caused 1,54,732 deaths. 38 per cent of victims of road accidents were riders of two-wheelers followed by trucks, lorries, cars and buses which accounted for 14.6, 13.7 and 5.9 per cent of road accident deaths, respectively.
A majority (59.6 per cent) of road accidents were due to overspeeding which caused 86,241 deaths and left 2,71,581 persons injured. Dangerous and careless driving or overtaking contributed to 25.7 per cent of road accidents which led to 42,557 deaths and left 1,06,555 persons injured. Besides, only 2.6 per cent of road accidents were due to poor weather conditions.
59.5 per cent and 40.5 per cent of road accidents were reported in rural areas (2,60,379 cases) and urban areas (1,77,017 cases), respectively.
29.9 per cent (1,30,943 cases out of 4,37,396 cases) of total road accidents were reported near residential areas.
According to NCRB, a total of 4,67,171 traffic accidents were reported during the year comprising 4,37,396 road accidents, 1,788 railway crossing accidents and 27,987 railway accidents. These accidents caused injuries to 4,42,996 persons and 1,81,113 deaths.
According to NCRB, a total of 8,145 deaths in the country were reported due to causes attributable to forces of nature. Out of 8,145 accidental deaths attributable to forces of nature, 35.3 per cent deaths were reported due to lightning, 15.6 per cent deaths due to heat/sunstroke and 11.6 per cent deaths due to floods.
Bihar (400), Madhya Pradesh (400), Jharkhand (334) and Uttar Pradesh (321) were the biggest victims of lightning deaths.
According to NCRB, causes other than forces of nature which have also resulted in accidents or deaths include deliberate or negligent conduct on the part of humans.
A total of 7,01,324 cases were reported in which 4,12,959 persons died and 4,46,284 persons injured. Male-female ratio in fatalities was 80.9 : 19.1.
The major causes of accidental deaths were (i) Traffic Accidents (43.9 per cent), (ii) Sudden Deaths (11.5 per cent), (iii) Drowning (7.9 per cent), (iv) Poisoning (5.1 per cent), (v) Falls (5.1 per cent) and (vi) Accidental Fire (2.6 per cent).
A total of 11,037 cases of fire accidents were reported in the country during 2019 which led to 10,915 deaths and injuries to 441 persons.
Drowning and poisoning caused 32,671 (7.9 per cent) and 21,196 (5.1 per cent) deaths, respectively, during 2019.
A total of 27,987 cases of railway accidents were reported during the year 2019. These railways accidents rendered 3,569 persons injured and caused 24,619 deaths.
A total of 1,788 cases of railway crossing accidents were reported which caused 1,762 deaths and left 165 persons injured.
Uttar Pradesh has reported the maximum cases of railway crossing accidents (851 out of 1,788 cases) accounting for 47.5 per cent of total such accidents.
(IANS)
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As per STA data, 5125 accidents have been reported between January and July, 2020. During the same period in 2019, the State had reported 6690 road accidents which resulted in 3426 deaths.
Even fatality count has posted a big drop, as the State witnessed 2401 deaths in Jan-July 2020 in comparison to the number of casualties reported during Jan-July 2019.
STA in its report mentioned that the number of fatalities reduced by 8% in January, 3.6% in February, 30% in March, 74% in April, 51% in May, 28% in June and 18% in July. In the first seven months of the year from January to July, the death due to road accident has reduced by 30 per cent, STA stated.
As per reports, deaths due to road accidents decreased by 43.5 per cent between April and July during the lockdown period. Moreover, 1048 fatalities were reported in April-July 2020 in comparison to 1853 fatalities between April and July, 2019.
The number of accidents occurring every month has also reduced post the Covid-induced lockdown.
Reports suggest that states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have also reported a significant decline in accidental deaths over the last few months.
Motor Vehicle Revenue Registers Growth In Odisha
Citing a recent study which clearly states that if we succeed in preventing deaths in road accidents, we can save around Rs 90 lakh per person, Gadkari said it is essential that automobile manufacturers should further enhance safety features in vehicles.
The Minister’s comments came during the release of the World Bank Report titled “Traffic Crash Injuries And Disabilities: The Burden on India Society”, prepared in association with the NGO – Save Life Foundation on Saturday.
The Report highlights that road accidents are a tremendous burden to society and the nation, and states :
-Reducing road accident deaths and injuries can boost income growth
-Large welfare gains can be achieved from proven cost-effective road safety interventions
-Road accident deaths and injuries strike down prime working age adults in low and middle-income countries.
The Union Minister further said road accidents are a public health issue and challenge in countries like India. Gadkari said his Ministry has been taking several measures to reduce road accident deaths by strengthening what he termed the “4Es” of improving road safety – Engineering, Education, Enforcement and Emergency care services.
The Minister said the government is working with the World Bank on various projects, one of which is to streamline the road crash database that is iRAD.
Pointing out that one of the key findings of the report is that number of accident deaths are double in poor families as compared to rich ones, Gadkari said that, for the government, each death is precious, whether it is from a poor family or a rich family. Institutional reform, the Minister said, is very much needed, and it is very important to have a streamlined and robust and accessible legal, insurance and healthcare ecosystem.
The Minister said that recommendations of the report on safety of vulnerable road users, cashless treatment, improvement of civic and health infrastructures, penetration and compensation mechanism of insurance, post-crash response ecosystem and integration of stake-holders would help in revising the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019 and Motor Vehicle rules.
The World Bank report comes even as the country is observing an extended first-ever “Road Safety Month” currently to build awareness of road safety.
(With PIB Inputs)
Chairing a high-level meeting, Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra on Monday directed top police officers and Road Transport Officers (RTOs) to ensure strict implementation of the traffic rules and take steps at the district level to bring down fatalities.
Mohapatra asked the officials to keep a strict watch on the bikers who ride two-wheelers without wearing helmets. It may be mentioned that wearing helmets have been made mandatory for both the riders and those riding pillion.
Principal Secretary of Commerce and Transport department Madhusudan Padhi who attended the meeting presented details of the action plan to bring down road accidents.
The Chief Secretary has directed the RTOs to place rumbler strips at the junction connecting National Highways and state highways. Information boards mentioning road safety norms should also be installed at every point to make the commuters aware regarding traffic guidelines, Mohapatra said.
Rash driving and bikers without helmets should be strictly dealt with, he added.
Mohapatra said the black spots identified since 2016 in the national and state highways should be rectified. He directed the officials to repair the black spots to enable smooth flow of traffic.
Meanwhile, road safety experts have emphasized on the installation of CCTV cameras at every traffic point.
"Use of massive CCTV cameras at major traffic squares can check speeding vehicles and rash driving. One traffic cop can't intercept a biker who violates rules at the junction. So, CCTV cameras capture the video of the violators who can be caught later. Commuters would also fear to breach traffic regulations due to camera vigil," said Muqabal Ali, road safety expert.
According to a study on road mishaps, each year the country bears a loss of Rs 4 lakh crore annually due to road fatalities.
Road mishaps claim lives of nearly 76 percent of people between 18 and 45 years of age every year. Around 41% bikers die every year in Odisha due to non-use of helmets while 69% fatalities occur due to rash and speed driving, a data quoted by a report said.