VIJAYAWADA: The number of fatal road accidents decreased in the district when compared to the previous year of 2016. In 2017, the district recorded 12.40 per cent less fatal accidents, while the statewide average stood at 5.88 per cent.According to Road Transport Authority (RTA) officials, the district recorded 735 deaths in 2017 when compared to the 839 the previous year. The department, with the support of police officials, had conducted drives to reduce the number of accidents, especially on the arterial roads such as Vijayawada-Machilipatnam, Vijayawada-Chennai (NH- 16) and Vijayawada-Hyderabad (NH-65) passing through the city.
A total of 2,724 road accident cases were registered in the district during 2017. The number of persons who lost their lives stood at 735 and 3,186 were injured. In 2016, 2,968 accidents were reported in the district and 3,513 sustained injuries while 839 were killed. Speaking to TNIE, Deputy Transport Commissioner E Meera Prasad said that as many as 15 road safety special teams appointed by the police and RTA department are conducting drives to nab two-wheeler riders without helmets and others who violate the Motor Vehicles Act. As many as 2,15,700 cases have been registered against the two-wheeler riders for violating helmet rule since September 1, 2017, he said.
Meera Pasad said that 264 driving licences were cancelled across the district for violating traffic rules and the offenders were sent for prosecution. Two short films have also been produced by the department to create awareness about the traffic rules among the vehicle users.
‘’As many as 3,000 students are provided driving licences during the Learner’s Licence (LLR) Mela conducted in 16 colleges across the district. The department has also been formulating an action plan to intensify the activity to provide driving licences for the youth who crossed 18 years and make them aware of the basic traffic rules to prevent road accidents in the district’’, Meera Prasad said.
‘Raksha’ App to provide basic life support in 4 minutes to accident victims
In a first of its kind, the Krishna district administration with the support of RTA, police and health officials is developing an android application ‘Raksha’ to provide basic life support to the accident victims in four minutes. The app will be available on Google Play Store within a month. Disclosing the functioning of the app, DTC E Meera Prasad said that the govt has selected Krishna district to implement the app on a pilot basis. Based on the response in the district, the mobile app will be introduced across the State.