Accidents on the rise after Unlock

With officials noting an increase in road accidents after the unlock, especially two-wheelers, doctors share that poor road behaviour and safety measures have led to this increase.

According to Dr Sriram, Head of the Emergency Department, Gleneagles Global Health City, there has been a notable increase in road traffic incidents following the gradual lifting of the lockdown in the city. Most notably, there was an increase once the public returned to the roads to commute for work or other reasons.

“The reason for the increase is because once the lockdown was lifted, many people returned to the roads after a long time. Because of this excitement, they took to the roads in a rash way. There was a lot of speeding and lack of wearing helmets. This led to a sharp increase in accidents,” said Dr Sriram.

Most of the accidents were related to two-wheelers, say doctors. According to Dr Aslesha, Consultant and Clinical Lead, Emergency Department, Kauvery Hospital, about 50 per cent of cases had mild injuries, 30-40 per cent of had severe injuries that could lead to disability, and 10-15 per cent were life-threatening and could lead to mortality.

In an effort to raise awareness on road safety, a team of doctors from Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, will be driving from Chennai to Kanniyakumari and back over four days. Six cars and one ambulance will host campaigns at the RTOs and police departments. The team of doctors will leave from Apollo Hospitals, Greams Road at 8.30 am on February 1.

Personal awareness and rule-following are crucial for road safety, say doctors. “Compared to other cities, Chennai is better in terms of road awareness, but not so much on following road regulations. But people need to follow road rules, especially related to speeding. Two-wheelers need to follow helmet rules, especially related to the right type of helmets that protect the head and are not only decorative,” said Dr Aslesha.