Signal jumping, phone use blamed for spike in road crashes

Bengaluru: From signal jumping to mobile phone usage, a mix of reckless driver behaviour and flawed road design is driving a surge in road accidents.

Emergency rooms at major city hospitals report more traumatic and life-changing injuries, including those related to the brain, than commonly thought, doctors say.

Dr Shailesh Shetty S, Senior Consultant and In-charge of Emergency Medicine and Patient and Clinical Safety Officer at a private hospital, said: "In Bengaluru, around 15-20% of total accidents are usually classified as severe or life-threatening, which includes fatal cases, while the remaining 80-85% are generally minor injuries. Roughly, one in every five accidents can lead to serious health outcomes."

Classifying the accidents, he said, "Nearly 60-70% of road accident patients are two-wheeler riders, many of whom come with head injuries, fractures or soft tissue trauma, while car accident cases are fewer and often involve comparatively less severe injuries due to safety features."

Doctors pointed out that a lack of safety measures contributes to the significant share of accidents.

Dr Veekshith Shetty, Consultant (Neurosurgery), said: "The most common causes remain speeding, drunk driving, failure to follow traffic rules such as jumping signals, wrong-side driving, not wearing helmets or seatbelts, and use of mobile phones while driving.

"Traumatic brain injuries are quite common and we address several head injuries on any given day. Many patients come with severe head trauma, skull fractures, or bleeding inside the brain, and some need urgent surgery to save their lives," he added.

Alcohol and mobile phone usage have added to the accidents, doctors note.

"Mobile phone usage is contributing to accidents among four-wheeler drivers, which is increasing the cases. Alcohol remains the most important factor," said Dr Rajiv Jain, Consultant (Accident and Emergency).

Regarding patients reaching hospitals in time, Dr Rajiv said, "The golden hour, meaning the first hour after an accident, is crucial for survival. In reality, many patients reach us after one to three hours, sometimes even later. The delays are because of several reasons, like lack of immediate ambulance access in some areas, traffic congestion, and bystanders hesitating to help."

Pedestrian accidents up 

Dr Shetty said, "We are seeing a noticeable rise in pedestrian injuries. Many of these cases are linked to uneven road infrastructure, and we frequently treat pedestrians with fractures, head injuries, and soft tissue damage due to these conditions, while hit-and-run cases remain relatively low."