Chennai: Strict enforcement of traffic rules on Chennai roads has reduced fatalities by 20 per cent last year when compared to the deaths in 2014.
While the number of deaths in 2014 was 1074, 2015 saw 861 road mishap fatalities in the city, a police officer said.
During 2015, in the first five months, two-wheeler rider fatalities stood at 227.
The compulsory helmet rule took effect on July 1. Last seven months of 2015 saw only 165 two-wheeler rider fatalities.
Prior to the helmet rule, on an average 45 bike riders were killed in road accidents in Chennai every month while after the helmet rule was made compulsory, the average deaths of two-wheeler riders in mishaps came down to 23. “The reduction in fatalities is almost 50 per cent,” an officer noted.
Since 2013, fatalities on Chennai streets was steadily decreasing. The number of deaths on roads in 2013 was 1,342.
The figure came down to 1074 in 2014. It further reduced to 861 in 2015.
Two wheeler fatalities alone decreased from 554 in 2013 to 485 in 2014 and further to 392 last year while the number of vehicles went up many fold during the same period.
The total number of accidents in the city came down from 9,948 in 2013 to 7,385 in 2015.
Police officers attribute the reduction in accidents and related deaths to strict enforcement of traffic rules and continuous drive against drunken driving.
