VISAKHAPATNAM: Steel City secured the first rank in terms of road safety as it achieved the highest drop of 34.5% in road accidents in 2022, a report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) revealed.
According to the ‘Road Accidents in India-2022’ report, Visakhapatnam, with a population of over 10 lakh, stood 22nd among the 50 most accident-prone cities in the country in 2022.
Its rank improved from seventh in 2021 as the number of accidents plummeted to 1,531 accidents from 2,339. Number of fatalities dropped to 358 in 2022 from 368 in 2021, while the number of injured people decreased to 1,288 in 2022 from 1,533 in 2021.
With a 31.4% drop in the number of accidents, Chennai secured second rank, while Patna stood third with a 28.4% drop. Mumbai recorded a 15% dip in accidents and ranked fourth. A closer look at the data reveals that over-speeding accounted for 83.14% of the accidents, which resulted in 301 deaths and 1,842 injuries of the total 1,531 reported accidents.
Specific accident patterns indicate that wrong-way driving caused 27 accidents, leading to nine fatalities and 26 injuries. While the majority of the accidents occurred on straight roads (1,017), 111 took place at road bends, 473 at intersections, and 11 at culverts.
Two-wheeler accidents accounted for the highest of 79 reported incidents, causing 179 deaths and 748 injuries. Autos were involved in 51 accidents, leading to 13 deaths, while trucks contributed to 30 accidents with seven fatalities. Buses were involved in 18 accidents, causing four deaths, and were implicated in 105 out of 418 reported accidents. Unfortunately, a significant number of pedestrians lost their lives in these incidents.
Explaining the initiatives taken to improve road safety in the city, Vizag deputy transport commissioner GC Raja Ratnam said, “An allocation of approximately Rs 21 crore facilitated road expansion, installation of speed breakers, signals, and the development of intersections. Further, Road Safety Committee meetings were conducted regularly under the leadership of the district Collector and the panel’s chairman.”
Stating that law enforcement played a crucial role in preventing mishaps, he said the police and transport department collected fines to the tune of Rs 5 lakh by registering over 4,200 cases of drunk driving, over-speeding, and other road safety violations.
“Moreover, awareness programmes were organised at major intersections, colleges, and schools in collaboration with the police and transport departments. Efforts were made to educate people on the need to shift accident victims to hospitals within the golden hour and utilise services like 108 and private ambulances,” he explained.
Raja Ratnam added that a reward of Rs 5,000 was announced for individuals who rescue those injured in road accidents to promote the “Good Samaritan” initiative. Further, he urged the public to cooperate with the transport and police departments, who are united under the “Vision Zero” slogan and striving to eliminate road accidents in the district.