As many as 3,210 accidents occurred in the city during January-August 2009 period, killing 620 people.
Beware if you are driving around on the SG highway, for the road is believed to be claiming the life of at least one person every day. According to the figures furnished by the Regional Transport Office (RTO), there is a substantial rise in the number of vehicles running on the highway every year, which in turn has increased the number of accidents in the area.
Interestingly, in 2008, as many as 3,504 cases of accidents were registered during the period, claiming the lives of 590 people. As against this, during January-August 2009, the figure stood at 3,210, and around 620 people lost their lives. The victims were mostly two-wheeler commuters or pedestrians.
It is worth noting that there are approximately 21 lakh vehicles in the city, of which nearly 15.54 lakh vehicles are two-wheelers. With cars and two-wheelers congesting the roads almost every day and drivers wearing a reckless attitude, it is not surprising that the rate of accidents in the city has risen significantly. However, records show that a majority of accidents occur because of two-wheeler and three-wheeler vehicles that stray into lanes meant only for bigger vehicles.
A majority of the victims who died in these road mishaps were between 18-44 years of age, and most of them ignored the Gujarat high court’s order to follow certain regulatory enforcements like wearing helmets. According to officials of the RTO, fatal accidents involving heavy vehicles topped the list of accidents, and more than 1,500 deaths were registered between 2006 and September 1, 2009.
It also revealed that a total of 935 road mishaps took place between January 2008 and August 2009 on the Judges Bungalow-Bodakdev stretch, claiming the lives of 220 people.
Maximum number of road mishaps takes place on the SG highway stretch that runs from Sarkhej to Adalaj. This is followed by the Sabarmati to Paldi stretch, which has registered 38 accidents this year. The third in the list is the Ankur crossroads to Naranpura railway crossing, which has witnessed 36 accidents in 2009, while the Astodia gate to Ellisbridge road has registered 32 accidents so far.
But the Narol-Naroda and Kalupur road stretch is a nightmare for pedestrians. It has witnessed 26 accidents this year.
The most common reasons for increasing number of accidents in the city are poor judgment, over-confidence on part of drivers, badly maintained vehicles and careless attitude of people, said RG Patel, assistant RTO.
Patel said, “The rising number of deaths in road mishaps is the result of rash driving by people riding two-wheelers and four-wheelers. We have arrested 61 dumper and tanker drivers for violating various traffic rules. While around 60% of heavy vehicle drivers were arrested for speeding, the rest were booked for negligent driving and bad condition of the vehicle.”
He further said, “They indulge in speeding and would change lanes frequently. This is one of the reasons why a majority of the accidents in the city happen during the wee hours.
Another reason for the increase in the number of accidents is the greed to make more trips a day. They do not realise that these vehicles cannot go beyond a certain speed limit.”
The RTO managed to nab 66 vehicles violating traffic rules. Of these, 42 were four-wheelers while 24 were two-wheelers. They have been booked under the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988.
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