SIGNAL SUCCESS
Traffic drive reduces road fatalities by half…..Viju B
Mumbai: The 14-month-long intensive campaign against various road offences initiated by the Mumbai traffic police department seems to be finally yielding results.
In the last two months, the number of people who have died in road accidents has come down considerably compared to the same period in each of the last three years. This, despite the fact that the vehicular population has leapfrogged by around 4 lakh in the last two years.
Figures show that in August this year, road fatalities came down to 20, compared to an average of 41 deaths in August 2007. While 632 people died on Mumbai’s roads last year, the toll in the first eight months of this year is pegged lower at 377. “This year, the worst months are over and we will try to restrict fatalities to as low a figure as possible in the coming months,’’ said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Sanjay Barve.
SAFE ROADS
Reining in bikers reduced accidents
Mumbai: The city witnessed less number of road accidents in the last months. Thanks to the vigil and intensive drive launched by the traffic police.
The police said that the heartening drop in the toll figures is due to a series of measures they had initiated in the last year. The police admitted that till June this year, though the number of fatalities had come down as compared to preceding years, it was still on the higher side. “It was then then the department investigated the real cause of these accidents. We found out that the maximum number of deaths were due to bike accidents,’’ Barve said.
The break-up of the cause of accidents show that on an average 16-25 motorists died in accidents involving two-wheelers, 7-10 pavement sleepers died when dumper vans and trucks ran over them at night, and around 10-15 succumbed due to collisions arising out of rash and drunken driving. “These figures were a revelation to us. We found out that the fatalities were on the higher side because of two-wheeler accidents,’’ Barve said.
Most of these accidents occurred since few two-wheeler riders bothered to wear helmets. The traffic police then initiated a drive against helmetless driving and booked over 3 lakh riders who were not wearing helmets in the last three months. “We targeted vulnerable accident spots like the Eastern Express highway, the Western Express highway, J J flyover where maximum number of accidents occur,’’ Barve said.According to the cops, it made a big difference and following this drive, especially on the highways and arterial roads, most of the riders have now started wearing helmets while driving. “But the two-wheeler fatalities will become negligible when the pillion driver also begin to wear helmets,’’ Barve said.
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