As accidents rise in villages, adalat to help people get DLs

Transport department plans to conduct awareness and training camps and provide driving licences (DLs) in taluk headquarters to help people in villages in the wake of rising number of accidents in rural areas.

“The 2015 data shows 60% of total accidents in the state and 70% of fatal accidents happened in rural Karnataka because people in the region do not have access to RTOs in district centres. We need to focus on rural areas if we want to reduce the number of accidents in the state,” a senor official in the department told DH.

Noting that youths between the age of 15 and 24 were involved in 54% of total accidents in 2015, he said youngsters need to know the importance of road safety. “Many people in rural areas, especially youths, are not aware of road signs, let alone traffic rules. They drive vehicles without licences and there is hardly anyone to check this in villages,” he said.

District Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) will plan modalities of the camps and arrange the makeshift infrastructure, which will be finalised by transport authorities and officials.
“We have sought Rs 20 crore for the project during 2017.

“We expect that this positive step, instead of punitive measures, will play a greater role in preventing road accidents in rural areas,” the official said.

Sources also said tractor drivers will be reimbursed Rs 900 they spend on DL. “Villagers suffer most when there is an accident. The camps will create awareness on the importance of vehicle insurance,” they said.

The action plan will be on the model of revenue and pension adalats, which became very popular in rural areas.  “We will identify rural areas which are very far from Regional Transport Offices and set up camps there. Steps will be taken to spread the message among villagers so that they can make use of the opportunity,” another official said.
DH News Service

Year                                    2011      2012       2013        2014       2015
Number of accidents             44,731    44,448    44,020     43,713     44,011
Accidents in rural areas         26,572    26,651    25,479     27,096     26,088
Total Fatal accidents              8,091     8,485      8,870        9,485      9,888
Fatalities in rural areas           5,391      5,547    5,686        6,758       6,820