Last updated: Jan 12, 2023 16:34 IST
The event coincides with National Road Safety Week, which is celebrated January 11-17. (Representative picture/News18)
Highlighting some recent road accidents involving state politicians, Maharashtra Minister Shambhuraj Desai said drivers cannot be blamed for such tragedies as politicians make them drive for long periods of time, especially at night
Maharashtra’s traffic fatality rate has jumped to a staggering 42 deaths per 100 accidents, says Maharashtra Traffic Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar, urging people to Follow the traffic rules to curb this.
Speaking at the inauguration of the 34th edition of Safe Driving on Roads 2023 at the National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA) in South Mumbai on Wednesday, Bhimanwar was quoted as saying times of india 70% of accidents across the state and in the capital Mumbai are victims in the 18-45 age group, while an average of 37 people will be killed on the roads every day in 2022.
“We need a serious road safety campaign to bring down the death toll. We plan to reduce it by 50 percent in five years, which will be well beyond the deadline set by the central government,” he was quoted as saying.
The event coincides with National Road Safety Week, which runs from January 11-17.
Meanwhile, Mumbai’s Regional Transport Office (RTO) was praised by audiences for reducing its road fatalities by 27% in 2022 to 259 last year from 355 in 2021.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis were scheduled to attend the event but they did not. Many people waited for almost two hours before State Revenue Minister Shambhuraj Desai was called in to inaugurate the road safety week.
He launched seven new anonymous Regional Transport Office (RTO) services for citizens.
Desai asked traffic and police officials to take innovative and practical steps to improve road safety, and advised parents to ensure they fully understand traffic rules before letting their children drive.
Highlighting some recent road accidents involving state politicians, Desai said such tragedies cannot be blamed on drivers who make them drive for long periods of time, especially at night. “This time people should be presented with some new, different, innovative and practical advice from which they can draw lessons for safe travel and driving,” the minister said.
The minister added that it is the responsibility of parents to ensure that their university-bound children understand the traffic rules properly before letting them drive a two-wheeler or any other vehicle.
Veteran politician and Marathi community leader Vinayak Mete was killed in a car accident on the Mumbai-Pune highway last August. Last week, NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde suffered minor chest injuries when his car crashed near Parli town in Beed district. Last month, BJP MLA Jaykumar Gore was injured after the car in which he was traveling fell off a bridge near Phaltan in his hometown Satara district.
What sector data shows
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), India’s road accident severity (deaths per 100 accidents) has almost doubled from 20.2 in 2000 to 37.3 in 2021.
In 2021, Mizoram has the highest rate of deaths in the country at 81 per 100 accidents, compared with 80 in Bihar.
MoRTH’s annual report “Road Accidents in India – 2021” published in December last year showed that since 2000, the severity of accidents has increased with some marginal fluctuations.
“It highlights the need for improved trauma care and traffic calming measures aimed at reducing crash impact parameters,” the report said.
(input from PTI)
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