THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If the statistics available with National Transport Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) are any indication, the city is turning a death trap for motorists.
A recent study carried out by NATPAC indicates that the fatality rates during accidents in the city are much higher, compared to other cities in the state. The study was carried out by preparing a Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) by the scientists wing of NATPAC on road safety and other issues pertaining to planning and transportation.
Though Kochi is at the top in fatality rates based on the study, Thiruvananthapuram is not far behind and presents alarming figures. However, this data also indicates that
Thiruvananthapuram will soon surpass Kochi in terms of the death rate, if the authorities do not take suitable measures, sources said.
According to the officials at NATPAC, the authorities, including the police officials, should take stern action to check the increasing fatality rates by implementing various initiatives.
In the data , the fatality rate per lakh population in the city is 21.10 per cent, which is termed an alarming level. The Level of Service (LoS) benchmark prepared by CMP is 4, that is clearly unsafe.
The service-level benchmarks are being overseen by CMP as per the guidelines of Union Ministry for Urban Development. The service-level benchmarks are processes of determining how effectively and efficiently the present transportation system is performing in the existing situation. The LoS consists of five ratings, out of which one to three ratings are somewhat better in terms of level of intensity. But four and five are considered to be alarming and high respectively.
The fatality rate per lakh population in Kochi is valued as 23 per cent and LoS is at the same level 4. However, Kozhikode fares better in term of fatality percentage and LoS as the figures are just 6 and 3 respectively.
But, on the other hand, the data further indicates that the pedestrians are comparatively safe in the city compared to all the other cities. The fatality rate for pedestrians is only 17 per cent and LoS is at 1. Kozhikode tops in the pedestrian fatality rates with 58 per cent and LoS at 3, while Kochi comes second with 43 per cent and LoS at 3.
Meanwhile, DCP Sanjay Kumar Gurudin, who recently put forward some suggestions before the district administration for traffic rearrangements in the city, pointed out that the data of NATPAC was much old and it was a different picture now. “The fatality rates are decreasing drastically in the city following the proper enforcement and immediate emergency response. In fact, we have booked 66 motorists for drunken driving and 25 for rash and negligent driving. Besides, the training for the police officials is underway for providing the first aid support to the accident victims,” he said.