Tragic statistics reveal a somber reality on the streets of Bengaluru as the city grapples with a distressing surge in road fatalities. Over the past six months, an alarming average of nearly two lives per day has been lost in accidents, painting a grim picture of the state of road safety.
Recent data released by the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) sheds light on the underlying causes behind these tragic incidents, pointing to reckless driving, poor pedestrian infrastructure, and violations of traffic regulations as major factors contributing to the mounting death toll.
On an average, close to two people have lost their lives every day on Bengaluru roads, over the last six months, according to the data by BTP.
Of the fatalities recorded, the majority of victims, close to 55 per cent, belonged to the 19 to 35 age group. Officials from the BTP opined that youngsters tend to violate traffic rules and there were numerous instances of rash driving and overspeeding. “Clearly, there are more victims in the 19-35 age group since they tend to overspeed and skip traffic signals. Cases of dangerous driving practices such as wheeling have also been recorded,” Dr M A Saleem, Special Commissioner (Traffic), told DH.
The data also revealed that 20 per cent of the fatalities involved pedestrians, indicating poor pedestrian infrastructure in the city.
According to senior BTP officials, these accidents occur when people are trying to cross roads in traffic-dense areas. “While a few areas lack skywalks and pedestrian underpasses, there are also areas where people do not use such facilities, resulting in accidents,” a senior BTP official said.
Saleem said that the department is closely working with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and several other stakeholders to ensure there are no infrastructural flaws.
“There are instances where potholes, poor lighting, and such other factors cause accidents. Since our personnel work on the ground, they write to the departments concerned when they notice any flaws,” he said.
The outer areas of the city are reporting a higher number of fatalities as compared to the core areas and this was attributed to the increasing traffic density and the underdevelopment of infrastructure.
A closer analysis of the fatal accidents showed that close to 40 per cent of accidents had occurred during the night since there is a tendency to violate traffic rules as traffic is relatively low. While violations are high, drunk driving cases also contribute to accidents, the officials said.
Saleem added that the BTP has increased enforcement and is organising a number of awareness campaigns to bring down the number of accidents.
Lives lost
1) About 50 per cent fatalities are in the 19-35 age group.
2) About 20 per cent of victims are pedestrians.
3) About 40 per cent of accidents occur in the night hours.
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