In Covid Year, Himachal Records 22 % Drop In Road Accident Deaths

Though Covid- 19 has claimed 835 lives in Himachal Pradesh, 228 of which in Shimla alone, the hill state has seen a significant 22 per cent drop in the deaths in road accidents.

The number of accidents as compared to 2019 has also come down by 23 per cent while a noticeable decline in the number of persons injured in the road accidents on the national highways and other accident-prone state highways.

The data compiled by the state police reveals that against 2,629 vehicular accidents in 2019, many of these fatal, the year 2020 reported only 2,014 accidents, a drop of 23 per cent. The number of deaths reported till mid-December 2020 is 788 against 1,020 in 2019.

“If we compare this with the 100 or so odd murders taking place in the state every year, it will astonishingly reveal that road accidents are the biggest threat to human life in our state. One of the biggest factors is because of its hilly and mountainous terrain,” said director-general of police Sanjay Kundu.

Usually about 3,000 road accidents happen in the state resulting in the death of about 1,200 people every year. Some years, the death toll has even been as high as 1,400 due to major accidents involving passenger buses, pilgrims from Punjab and so on travelling in trucks to visit places like Manikaran.

The bad condition of the roads has been quoted as reason but negligence of the driver have also come out as a biggest factor during some of the inquiries held after the accidents.

A bus accident near Nurpur in April 2018, for example, had claimed the lives of 27 schoolchildren, most of them in the age group of five to 14 years. This was one of the shocking road accidents in Kangra district. The parents have not yet got justice. A bus accident at Banjar in Kullu claimed 44 lives in June 2019.

According to a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH), GoI, the road accidents continue to be a leading cause of death, disabilities and hospitalisation in the country despite commitment and efforts.

India ranks first in the number of road accident deaths across 199 countries and accounts for almost 11 per cent of the accident-related deaths in the World.

Himachal Pradesh, despite its low population, ranks 22nd in terms of number of road accidents and 20th in terms of number of road accident deaths among the states in the country in the past few years.

Kundu said, “It may be due to the reason that each accident in the state results in more than one death, and sometimes in case of an accident of large vehicles casualties may even be in double digits in one road accident.”

The police, according to their new initiatives, have taken up special initiatives to reduce the number of deaths. The lockdown has certainly been a factor behind the low fatalities.

The police have come out with new advisories, especially to focus on a key factor about most accidents happening during the morning and evening hours.

“Data shows that dawn and twilight have higher incidence of accidents involving pedestrians. Please avoid black-ice -frozen frost that appears on cold mornings and is invisible,” said a police advisory.

It also spoke about avoiding venturing out in thick fog unless there is some urgent requirement. Avoid over-speeding and rash and negligent driving in the hills and more particularly drinking and driving, it added.

“This is particularly important, as due to Covid 19, the police are not using alco-sensors. Practise and observe self-restraint, particularly while going to functions such as marriages, birthdays etc. and while returning from these functions,” the police advisory said.

In the past 11 years, Himachal Pradesh has reported loss of 12,549 lives in road accidents in 32,377 accidents.