The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Fewer accidents in first quarter

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Saturday, Apr 19, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Fewer accidents in first quarter

S. Anil Radhakrishnan

Drunk driving, traffic-rule violation cases show rising trend

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While the number of road accidents in the State capital during the first quarter of 2008 is less than that recorded during the corresponding period the previous year, the number of cases of drunk driving, traffic-rule violations and petty traffic offences has gone up.

The number of road accidents in the north and south sub-divisions of the city traffic police came down to 454 from the 514 between the two periods of comparison, show the traffic accident statistics compiled by the city traffic police.

The number of accidents that had caused grievous injuries came down from 379 to 335. The number of accident-related deaths came down from seven to six.

However, the number of suo motu cases registered by the traffic police for causing obstruction on the road and drunk driving went up from 823 to 869. The number of petty cases went up from 10,690 to 22,131. The highest number of 11,393 petty cases was registered in the north sub-division this year. The amount collected in fines in these cases went up from Rs. 16.28 lakh to Rs. 25.7 lakh from the first quarter of 2007 to that this year.

This was mainly due to the stern action taken against those not using helmets and seat-belts and causing other traffic violations, says P. Mohanan Nair, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Traffic (South). But in the case of helmets, only 30 per cent of the motorists are wearing them.

The crackdown against drunk driving was stepped up. Hence, the number of cases registered under sections 184 and 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act went up from 306 during the first quarter in 2007 to 413 during the corresponding period this year.

While two cases were registered by the traffic wing under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 27 were registered under Section 304 (A) (accident death) this year. Fifteen cases were filed under Section 279 of the IPC for rash and negligent driving.

The number of cases registered by the traffic police for simple injuries caused by road accidents under Section 337 of the IPC came down from 65 during the first quarter of 2007 to 47 during the corresponding period this year.

Traffic police officials say the dip in number of road accidents is a big achievement, as the force is working under severe constraints. Adequate personnel, equipment, vehicles and facilities have not been made available to the traffic wing commensurate with the increase in number of vehicles. The wing is yet to have a towing vehicle and still uses a recovery vehicle.

As many as 148 people were killed and 2,406 injured in road accidents in 2007 in the capital.

The number of fatal road accidents came down from 177 in 2006 to 137 last year. Of the 2,406 people hurt, 1,612 sustained serious injuries and 794, minor injuries. In 2006, 181 people were killed and 2,497 injured.

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