With over 130,000 death annually, India has the highest number of road accidents in the world. The main causes of road accident are careless, drunk driving, low use of helmets, and seat belts as per World Health Organization (WHO) report on road safety. The report says 40 people under the age of 25 die in road accident around the globe every hour.
In India alone, the death toll rose to 14 per hour in 2009 as opposed to 13 the previous year in road accident. The total number of deaths every year due to road accidents has now passed the 135,000 mark. The actual numbers of road fatalities could be much higher since many cases are not even reported. There is no estimate as to how many people injured in road accidents die a few hours or days after the accident.
In North East India Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya recorded high rate of accidents and deaths. In 2008, the rate of accidental deaths per car stood at 5.7 in Arunachal Pradesh, the highest in the entire country.
It is time for the authorities to think seriously on road safety measures in addition to the awareness campaign on road safety. Besides strict traffic regulations, awareness program should continue in view of increasing number of vehicles in state capital and other parts of the state.
Monday, January 13, 2025