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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | For 10th year in a row, Tamil Nadu tops India in road accidents -Karthikeyan Hemalatha

For 10th year in a row, Tamil Nadu tops India in road accidents -Karthikeyan Hemalatha

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published Published on Jun 24, 2013   modified Modified on Jun 24, 2013
-The Times of India


CHENNAI: It isn't a record to be proud of: For the last 10 years, Tamil Nadu has topped the National Crime Record Bureau's charts for road accidents in the country.

In 2003, the state recorded a little more than 51,000 accidents, the highest in the country. Ten years later, in 2012, close to 68,000 were registered, again the largest number in the country.

Close to eight accidents occur every hour, and the state accounts for 15% of all road accidents in the country. In TN, 16,175 people died in accidents last year, that's about 44 deaths every day. NCRB data shows that 4.4 lakh road accidents took place in 2012, of which 1.4 lakh were fatal.

While Chennai has been leading the pack in accidents for years, traffic police say this year marks a new beginning. "From January 1 to Saturday (June 22), the number of fatal accidents has reduced by 100 compared to the same period last year," said Karuna Sagar, additional commissioner of police (traffic).

Delhi, Bangalore follows Chennai in highest no. of accidents

Chennai recorded the highest number of accidents amongst the 53 mega cities on the NCRB list. It registered 9,663 accidents, of which 1,401 were fatal. "We have increased our presence and patrolling. We have been stopping drunken driving," said Sagar. Delhi follows Chennai with 5,865 cases and 1,527 fatal accidents, and Bangalore is in third place with 5,508 accidents and 725 deaths.

At the state level, police say there have been considerable changes. "We are creating awareness among the public and educating our officers about enforcement. We are improving our reaction time to emergencies, especially during the golden hour," said director general of police K Ramanujam.

Senior police officials said that Tamil Nadu is one of the most urbanized states. "The number of vehicles has far outstripped the road length. This is one of the reasons for increasing accidents," said a police officer.

Experts said there focusing on enforcement alone is not enough. "Enforcement has improved, but the police are biased while while investigating and registering cases. Further, our infrastructure does not promote safe driving," said V S Suresh, an advocate specializing in road accidents who practices at the Madras high court.

Urban planning and engineering has not kept pace with the times. "Over the years, vehicles speeds have increased tremendously but highways engineering has not kept up," said Raj Cherubal of Chennai City Connect, a non-governmental organization working on urban issues. "Even OMR, one of Chennai 'premier' roads is accident prone," he said.

Apart from infrastructure, state-owned buses are number 1, with a distant lead, when it comes to causing road accidents. While Tamil Nadu registered some 1,300 cases in 2012, the second highest is UP with 700 accidents. In Chennai, MTC has contributed to 114 accidents in the same year while the second highest is Hyderabad with less than half of 54 accidents.


The Times of India, 24 June, 2013, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/For-10th-year-in-a-row-Tamil-Nadu-tops-India-in-road-accidents/articleshow/20735444.cms


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