UP tops in mishaps caused by drivers talking on phone
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest number of road accidents as well as deaths and injuries due to the driver talking on cell phone while driving during 2016, according to Road Accidents in India 2016, an annual publication of the Union ministry of road transport and highways.
In UP alone, the habit of people being on phone while driving caused 1,595 road accidents in which 874 people were killed and 1257 were injured that year, the publication added.
Nationwide, 2,138 people were killed and another 4,746 injured in road accidents under this category in 2016, the publication added.
The data assumes significance as the driver of the school van, which hit a train at an unmanned crossing killing 13 students in Kushinagar on Thursday, had earphones plugged in. This has been identified as the main reason for the accident.
In percentage terms, Uttar Pradesh accounted for 32% of the total road accidents in the country that occurred due to driving while talking on phone while the state’s share in deaths and injuries under this category was 40.8% and 26.48% , the publication said.
Tamil Nadu is in second place with 827 road accidents occurring due to drivers talking on phones while driving in 2016, the publication said. As many as 133 persons died and 978 were injured in the southern state under this category. Tamil Nadu was followed by Haryana where 461 road mishaps occurred killing 275 people and injuring 461 others for the same reason.
Overall, 19,320 people died in 35,612 cases of road accidents in UP during the same year, the toll being the highest in the country.
Although UP has always remained on top in the overall number of deaths due to road accidents, the state is far behind Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala when it comes to the total number of traffic crashes.
Poor enforcement of laws and lack of awareness were said to be the main reasons for more accidents happening in UP due to drivers talking on phone, sending or reading messages on cell phones, an official said.
“Enforcement perhaps needs to be strengthened to have an effective check on violation of rules while people should also understand that obeying traffic rules is in their interest only,” additional road safety commissioner Gangaphal said.
Although talking on a phone while driving was an offence under the Motor Vehicles Act, the violations were generally ignored or the violators committed the offence without the fear of getting punished, he added.
Various other studies reveal that talking on phone or listening to music with the earphone plugged in while driving in is as good as driving a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant.
“When you are driving and talking or listening to music on phone at the same time, you are not in a position to respond to an emergency the way you should,” explained. another official.