VISAKHAPATNAM: On an average, 40 two-wheeler riders die every month in accidents in Andhra Pradesh for not wearing helmets and at least 28 lives are being lost every month because of non-wearing of seat belts while driving. A recent report compiled by the research wing of the Union Ministry of Transport has revealed the worrying statistics, putting AP in the fifth position among the states that recorded the maximum number of road mishaps owing to driving without headgear.
It is not all. The state has bagged the seventh position among the states that witnessed the maximum number of accidents owing to violation of seatbelt norms, two notches above the neighbouring Telangana.
The report suggests that 24,888 accidents were reported in AP last year, claiming 8, 541 lives and leaving 30,051 injured. Further, 477 two-wheeler riders died in accidents while driving sans helmet, while 237 died for not tying seat belts.
The spree of the awareness campaigns and imposing penalty for violation of safety norms appear to have yielded a little as the accident deaths scenario has registered no substantial improvement when compare to the previous years. In 2015, the state registered 8,297 deaths and 29,439 injuries in accidents.