Bangalore: The traffic police in Bangalore can pat their back for their success in bringing down the number of accidents on city roads. Since last year, the rate has been coming down and this year too the number of accidents has registered a significant reduction.
In 2012, the city saw 5,502 accidents. Of them, 735 were fatal, while 4,767 were non-fatal. In fact, it was a two-decade low for Bangalore. Till November this year, the city as seen 4,800 accident, of which 668 were fatal and 4,132 were non-fatal. Undoubtedly, the credit goes to a slew of campaigns initiated by the Bangalore traffic police and emergence of technology in traffic management.
B. Dayananda Additional Commissioner, traffic, told Deccan Chronicle, “Low accident rates are due to our constant efforts to bring in strict law enforcement, especially against drunk driving and helmet-less riding. Besides, the high density of vehicles on city roads has slowed down traffic in the city limits, and under such circumstance fatal accidents become rare.”
Cases of drunk driving have also come down this year as compared to the last year. Violations stood at 48,000 in 2013, as against 60,000 last year. But cases of helmetless riding have seen an increase. This year, four lakh cases were booked against those riding without helmets, while last year, three-and-a-half lakh cases were booked.
Last year, a survey terÂmed Bangalore motorist as the worst behaved and in 2011, another survey laÂbeled Bangalore as the sixth worst city in the world for commuting. “Speed is the main culprit in majority of accidents and anyone who meets with an accident at a speed of above 60 kmph is likely to die.
But because of the increase in number of vehicles, the speed in the city has been limited to 20-30 kmph. Even if someone meets with an accident within the city limits, he or she will suffer minor bruises or fractures,” DayaÂnÂand said.
Traffic expert M.N. Sreehari has been working closely with the Bangalore traffic department to create awareness on road safety on various platforms. In fact, he was the key personality in initiating the video – a montage of cringe-worthy accidents to a peppy Shankar Mahadevan tune at various cinema theaters.
