KOCHI: Series of fatal road accidents have shook the state in recent days. Even more distressing is the loss of young lives in the mishaps.
While external factors like road conditions are a reason, an analysis of road accident statistics shows reckless driving and carelessness have doused the hopes of many families in the state, with the tragic bus-car collision in Alappuzha in which six MBBS students died serving as a classic instance.
Experts now call for initiating a series of measures that include the inclusion of ‘road safety’ as a topic in the school curriculum of small children itself, continued monitoring of young drivers for a specific period even after receiving the licence, and strict enforcement of speed restrictions as per the topography and road conditions.
In fact, the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) rolled out the ‘Road Safety Youth Leadership Programme’ aimed at inculcating a ‘road culture’ among youths. It failed to yield desired results, leading to calls for including ‘road safety’ lessons right from junior classes.
“Under the programme, we provided awareness classes and training to students of 100 schools in Kerala, but the feedback was that it failed to cut accidents involving young drivers. We can’t bring in a sudden change, rather the ‘road safety’ lessons should be imparted from a young age itself. Unlike the earlier generation, the psychology of the children now is completely different. The exposure of technology, especially mobile games like car racing and all, is influencing their thoughts. Many consider getting a driving licence as getting a free hand for rash and reckless driving,” said Dr Samson Mathew, director, NATPAC.
Road accident victims largely comprise young people in the productive age. Around 60.5% of the victims are those aged 18-25, 26-35, and 36-45, according to the data provided by the Department of Economics and Statistics.
“There should be a probation period for fresh licence holders. In the Alappuzha incident, the teenager behind the wheels had received licence just four months back. During the probation period, there should be a set of restrictions like an experienced person accompanying the new driver, or speed limits. This will help them be mature drivers and drive responsibly,” said Dr Samson, a professor with NIT Trichy who is on deputation as the NATPAC director.
Meanwhile, despite the improvement in road conditions, the number of accidents has risen substantially. Latest data by the Kerala Police revealed that against 27,977 accidents (2,979 deaths) in 2020, there were 48,091 mishaps in 2023, and 40,821 accidents until October this year.
Road-safety expert Upendra Narayan said Kerala, which experiences relatively high rainfall, requires wet road specification.
“Across India, we have adopted the same specification for road construction. We have very smooth surface roads now, which help in acceleration and passenger comfort. However, it affects braking of vehicles especially in wet conditions. So, regions like Kerala where rainfall is frequent require wet road specification,” he said, while citing the tragic mishap at Panayampadam in which a speeding truck overturned and fell on four school students last week.
Upendra, who was an international car rally driver, said the strips laid on roads to alert drivers play a vital role. “These strips should be laid at curves so that drivers can apply brakes 100m prior to entering the curve. Most often, those driving the vehicle at high speed fail to judge the curve. Also during rain, due to slops at curves, water flows across the road. Most often, drivers apply brakes close to the curve. For alerting drivers about the curves, white strips can be laid across the road. These strips will also help in slowing vehicles down,” he said.
“There is a need to strictly enforce speed restrictions based on the topography and road conditions. For instance, the maximum safe speed on MC Road is 50 kmph, while it is just 30 kmph on many other stretches,” Dr Samson said.
Max accidents in January, December
The maximum number of accidents in Kerala occur at either the start or the end of a year, show the figures provided by the Kerala Police and the department of economics and statistics. They reveal that over 10% of the total accidents occurred in January and nearly 10% in December between 2018 and 2022. In 2023, the highest number of accidents occurred in January (387), followed by December (375).
Also, the time span of 6pm to 9pm is when most road accidents happen in Kerala, followed by the 3pm to 6pm window. As many as 21.25% total accidents occurred between 6 pm and 9 pm in the five years since 2018. They include 39,601 accidents and 4,127 deaths.
As many as 36,881 accidents and 3,171 deaths were reported between 3pm and 6pm during the 2018-2022 period, the data by the department of economics and statistics showed.
Rs 7,000 fine for high beam
The motor vehicles department (MVD), which launched vehicle inspections jointly with the police department from Tuesday in the wake of the recent fatal accidents, has started imposing strict penalties for the offences.
“Our effort is to create mass awareness. So even those caught for simple offences such as driving without helmet or lane violation are now being sent to attend road safety classes. It’s mandatory that they attend the two-and-a-half hour class. Similarly we’re cracking down on vehicles using high beams, another major cause of accidents. The offenders are fined Rs 7,000,” a senior MVD official said.