Vijayawada: Speeding and rash driving are continuing to take the lives of hundreds of people in the district and other parts of the state every year. Nearly 350 persons were killed and 1563 persons injured in the Vijayawada police commissionerate's limits. As many as 7,439 persons died in 21,126 accidents in the state in 2015.
While motorists can hardly be exonerated, what is also at fault is the lack of proper road engineering, design and maintenance, which is contributing to the rise in the number of accidents, particularly those involving two-wheelers. While most two-wheeler accidents take place on single-lane roads in the rural areas, car and bus accidents take place on highways. This is why journeys on private buses have become a nightmare for passengers. Travel operators take advantage of the Road Transport Authority's negligence, running more than one bus with a single registration. They also press into service drivers without proper experience who flout speed limits to fulfill the timings of the services, jeopardising the passengers lives. There are many incidents of private buses catching fire too.
