State records drop in road mishaps
DATA Although there has been an overall drop in road accidents in Rajasthan between 2017 and 2018, Jodhpur sees an increase to 549 from 282 in 2017; the number of deaths has increased to 245 from 104 which is an increase of 135.57%
JAIPUR: There has been a slide in number of road accidents and deaths but Jodhpur roads turned bloodier, shows data released by road transport ministry on Tuesday.
According to the data of ministry of road and transport highway (MORTH), road accidents saw a dip of 1.7% between 2017 and 2018, making Rajasthan the ninth Indian state in terms of accidents. There was decrease in number of deaths in road fatalities, too, improving the state’s ranking.
State’s traffic police said the numbers will improve further in the next report because of “effective enforcement and cooperation of transport department.”
The MORTH report said there were 22,112 road accidents in Rajasthan in 2017; in 2018, this is down to 21,743. There were 10,444 deaths due to accidents in 2017 which dropped to 10,320 in 2018.
However, in Jodhpur, chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s home district, there’s been a massive increase in road accidents – 549% -- and a 135% increase in deaths in accidents.
Additional director general of police (ADGP), traffic Pankaj Kumar Singh said that the data indicates improvement and the state will witness better results in future.
“With active enforcement and cooperation of transport department, the numbers of deaths have reduced. A lot of emphasis has been given on technology and educating people about traffic rules,” Singh said.
The ADGP added that this year the police officials in districts have reached around 2,500 schools and colleges wit the aim to generate awareness among children. “Our motto is ‘catch them young’,” he said.
2017
Accidents Deaths
Fatal accidents
2018
Accidents Deaths
Grievous Injury Accidents
Minor Injury Accidents
In 50 million plus cities, Jaipur has slipped to fourth position from third in deaths due to road accidents. In 2017, 813 deaths were reported in the capital while it reduced to 692 in 2018.
The only negative figures which comes out in the MORTH report is from Jodhpur.
The number of accidents in Jodhpur in 2018 has increased to 549 from 282 in 2017. Similarly, the number of deaths has increased to 245 from 104 which is increase
Accidents Deaths
Non-injury Accidents
Open area
Residential area
Market area
Institutional area
Others of 135.57%.
“We will chalk out some special strategy for Jodhpur after evaluating the reasons behind increase in death,” ADGP Singh said.
Rights activist Rakesh Sharma said, “What I have witnessed is that counselling for people riding two-wheelers without helmets have increased.
“The awareness drive by traffic police from rural areas to cities is very much visible which have yielded good results. Awareness drives in educational institutions, including school and colleges, and engagement on social media via attractive and interactive posts has helped the people in understanding norms,” Sharma said.
The i nitiatives of traffic department include installing Automatic Number Plate Reading (ANPR) system with speed and lane detection cameras to detect speed of vehicles. As soon as a driver is caught overspeeding, a challan is generated and delivered to his or her home.
The traffic wing of the Rajasthan police department had also introduced in-vehicle dashboard cameras in highway mobile vans, interceptor vans and body-worn cameras (BWC) on all intercepting officers on duty to record traffic violations at public places and highways.
The main objectives behind installing these cameras are increasing vigilance and transparency, justifying accountability, incorporating IT, system integrations, data authentication and authorisation for controlled access and video streaming.
The traffic wing of city police is also working on artificial intelligence based software which would be integrated with speed and lane detection cameras. It will identify if a motorist violates a traffic rule and would be issued a challan at the nearest toll plaza.