Monday, May 16, 2005
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Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Kerala
S.Anil Radhakrishnan
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The devastating tsunami of December 26 claimed 176 lives in Kerala. It is universally acknowledged as the worst-ever disaster in the State's history. But, few seem to see the tsunami of a different kind that is sweeping away precious on Kerala's roads. Every 22 days, Kerala is losing as many lives as the killer tsunami had claimed in road accidents. The statistics are startling and, put together, they tell the story of how Kerala's roads are turning into killing fields with eight lives getting snuffed out in road accidents every day. For the first time in the State's history, the number of deaths due to road accidents crossed the 3,000 mark in 2004, the exact number being 3,066 dead in 41,306 accidents. These accidents also injured 51,352 persons and damaged 50,197 vehicles. Kerala today is the second most accident-prone State after Maharahstra.
Total road network
The State, covering an area of 38, 863 sq.km, has a total road network of 1.41 lakh kms. There are eight national highways having a total NH length of 1,560 kms, which is just 2.7 per cent of the country's NH network. Of the 41,306 accidents, 11,106 took place on the NH stretches, 5,184 on the State Highways and the remaining on the other roads. The situation is so grim that though the State's population comes only 3 per cent of the country's population, it accounts for about 10 per cent of the country's road accidents every year. Over 60 per cent of the vehicles involved in accidents are two-wheelers. The total cost on account of fatalities, injuries and vehicles damaged in the road accidents that occurred last year has been estimated at Rs. 453.78 crores, which is roughly 1.5 per cent of the State's GDP. Road accident is considered to be the third major cause of deaths in the State. Heart ailments and cancer are the other diseases that take a similar heavy toll in Kerala. The present rate of accidents in Kerala is 15 per 1,000 vehicles. The total number of vehicles registered in the State has crossed the 30-lakh mark and 60 per cent of them are two-wheelers. On an average, 2,100 driving licences are issued daily. Going by the current rate of increase in vehicle population, the State would soon have a million more vehicles and this would mean another 15,000 accidents to deal with every year.
Causative factors
The primary causative factor for the steep increase in the number of accidents is the spurt in the number of personalised modes of transport, especially two-wheelers and cars, mainly due to the failure of the public transport system to cater to the needs of commuters. The increasing number of private vehicles not only adds to the congestion on the roads but also contribute to the reduction in the total carrying capacity of roads. An analysis of road accidents by the Police Department shows that rash and negligent driving is the main cause of accidents. Almost 98 per cent of the accidents that took place in the State last year could be attributed to the fault of drivers. The rest of the accidents are reportedly the result of other reasons such as defects of vehicle, bad weather, poor road surface and the fault of pedestrians. By and large, road accidents occur due to over-speeding and unhealthy competition of vehicles, poor road conditions, uncontrolled access to streets and unmanned junctions, bad driving habits and lack of discipline on the part of road users, haphazard roadside parking, absence of proper bus bays and shelters, visual acuity of drivers, lack of pedestrian crossing facilities, encroachments and dumping of materials on the road and elements of surprise check and speed barriers. "Steps should be taken to improve human behaviour through mass education and strict enforcement along with improvement of road conditions and distribution of traffic optimally on the road network. Otherwise, the modern fast moving vehicles could grow to be the bane of a traffic system bursting at the seams," says Mahesh Chand, the Chief Project Coordinator of the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC), an autonomous institution under the Government of Kerala.
Lack of enforcement
Reporting of all accidents, including minor ones, to get them registered for claiming insurance is cited by the Motor Vehicles Department and the Police as the main reason for the increase in the total number of accidents compared to other States. Although high standards are followed for conducting tests to issue driving licence and in carrying out fitness tests, the shortage of staff in the executive grade has prevented the Motor Vehicles Department from deploying the required personnel for enforcement work. Of the 276 sanctioned strength of Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspectors in the State, 112 posts are now vacant. This has affected the functioning of the 18 Mobile Enforcement Squads and four Speed Tracers attached to four zones of the State to enforce the rules. "Staff shortage is affecting the enforcement work in a big way. Tightening the enforcement is the only way to bring down road accidents drastically," says the Senior Deputy Transport Commissioner and the Secretary of the State Transport Authority, Alex Paul. A combined drive with the help of the police personnel in 1995 had helped the Motor Vehicles Department to bring down road accidents and casualties by one third. As part of providing training to heavy vehicle drivers, the department is taking steps to set up a Driver Training and Research Institute at Edappal this year.
Avoidable deaths
As many as 2,500 of the 3,066 deaths that took place due to road accidents in the State last year could have been avoided if adequate steps were taken by all road users, says the Additional Director General of Police (Training and Traffic), Jacob Punnoose. Roads need footpaths, zebra crossings and other amenities, especially in view of the fact that 1,100 pedestrians also got killed in the State last year. Roads need medians as they can prevent vehicles from coming face to face. Two-wheeler users should see the helmet as a safety gadget and wear it voluntarily instead of the police enforcing the law, he says. As part of curbing over-speeding in highways, the police have procured 14 speed radars at a cost of Rs.1 crore. "We would book all those who exceed the speed limits in the highways. We will be providing more speed radars and the aim is to bring down the accidents in the highways drastically," Mr. Punnoose says. The Secretary, Public Works Department, Lida Jacob, says the increasing number of accidents is a matter of concern to all. The proposed Road Safety Authority will help reduce the mounting road accidents as road safety would then get more emphasis and money would not be a constraint. Further, the Government is preparing a Road Safety Action Plan under the ongoing WB-aided Keala State Transport Project, she adds. Readers are welcome to respond. E-mail: letters.kerala @thehindu.co.in
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