Chennai: Coimbatore has recorded the maximum number of fatalities due to road accidents overtaking Chennai. While Tamil Nadu holds the dubious distinction of leading the country in road accident fatalities in 2015, Coimbatore recorded 962 fatalities out of total 15,642 registered across the state.
Next to Coimbatore comes Kancheepuram district where 906 persons died in accidents. Chennai comes next with 889 fatalities in road accidents.
Interestingly, Chennai recorded a steady decline in the number of accidents and fatalities in the last two years in contrast to sharp rise in Coimbatore. In 2015, Chennai reported 7,336 road accidents and 889 casualties. The previous year it had registered 9,468 accidents resulting in 1048 deaths. Coimbatore had recorded a rise in the number of accidents to 4,054 in 2015 from 3,937 in 2014 while fatalities had gone up to 962 from 948 the same period.
Coimbatore police commissioner A. Amalraj said the city did not record any rising trend in road accidents. He said in 2015, the city recorded about 246 fatalities, which is less than Chennai and this year till date, 140 casualties have been reported. “It is a safe city,” he said.
Coimbatore District Road Safety-cum-Traffic Advisory Committee member K. Kathirmathiyon said accidents occur due to engineering faults and lack of enforcement. “If an accident occurs, a scientific analysis should be done to find out the causes for it. It is not being done. That is the main reason for accidents,” he said, adding black spots should be identified and solutions should have been worked out for avoiding accidents there. “Lack of visibility in NH 47 and NH 209 junction has caused several accidents. But no steps are being taken to rectify it,” he said.
“If accidents occur due to poor road engineering designs, officials concerned should be charged under IPC Section 304 A for causing fatalities to public and motorists,” he said. However, the policy note of police department tabled by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday said though the number of vehicles increased every year, the ratio between number of vehicles and number of road accidents had shown a decreasing trend from 2013 to 2015.
