Road accidents claim 140 lives during lockdown

About 140 lives lost in over 600 road accidents in the country over the course of the two phases of the nationwide lockdown between March 24 and May 3, according to a report by SaveLIFE Foundation.

Over speeding on empty roads is a major reason for road fatalities said the study report by the non-profit organisation.

Of the total accident victims, 30 percent were migrant workers returning to their homes while remaining victims were essential services workers like doctors who were going or returning from the duty.

"The country recorded more than 600 road crashes over the course of the two phases of the nationwide lockdown (24th March till 14th April and 14th April to 3rd May)," as per data compiled by SaveLIFE Foundation.

The states which recorded maximum accidents are Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam, Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu.

While there has been a dip in the absolute number of road crash fatalities during lockdown due to suspension of public transport and general mobility, the rate of deaths in road crashes has remained unchanged, highlighting how unsafe Indian roads are even when the majority of the country has been under restrictions, says the report.

“Though there will be a dip in that number this year due to the lockdown, 140 deaths in over 600 crashes go to show gains achieved will be lost as soon as things go back to normal.

The third phase of the lockdown is a golden opportunity for States to fix engineering faults in our roads and institute mechanisms for electronic enforcement so that when things become normal, we can keep road fatalities low." says Piyush Tewari, Founder, and CEO, SaveLIFE Foundation.

Governments should also prioritise road safety while notifying these Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs), since a large number of crashes have involved vehicles ferrying people across states, said the report.