THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kochi and ThiKochi and Thiruvananthapuram top in fatal motor accidents in the state with 502 and 485 people respectively dying in these districts in 2015. Thrissur and Palakkad are close behind with 433 and 425 people respectively losing their lives. The whole of Malabar was a tad better but in Kozhikode 356 people were killed as per the State Crime Records Bureau statistics. The National Highway stretches in Alappuzha are the most accident-prone with 1,248 cases being reported from the district. Its highways are second to Kochi (1,439) in terms of accidents.
“It’s a fact that the stretches between Cherthala and Karunagapally are the worst in terms of accidents as they are the most congested. Many traders encroach on to NH land in urban areas and local politicians also are hand in glove with them,” said road safety expert Upendra Narayanan. In the overall number of mishaps across all types of roads, the financial capital of Kochi tops with 6,074 cases as against 5,066 in the state capital. Surprisingly, only 27 accidents caused by drunken drivers were recorded in the state with nine being in Kochi followed by four in Thiruvananthapuram city limits.
