HP reports 11.5% jump in road mishaps, at 3rd place in country

One cannot blame only the roads of Himachal Pradesh for road accidents; dangerous driving, overtaking and overspeeding are among the culprits. The state has reported a jump of 11.5% in road accident cases in 2014.
This has been pointed out in the recently released data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which has revealed that the state is at the third place in the country, among all 29 states, in the rate of increase in road accidents for the year 2014.
At the top is Meghalaya, which has reported a 55.2% rise in road accidents while Madhya Pradesh has reported a jump of 16.6%.
Himachal is much ahead of its neighbouring states in percentage rise in road accident cases. Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has reported a 10.5% dip, Haryana has shown a jump of 5.4%, Punjab, a rise of 1.1% and Uttarakhand has shown a massive dip of 38.2%. Delhi has shown a jump of 9.8% while Chandigarh showed a dip of 10.5%.
In 2014, HP witnessed 3,325 road accidents as compared to 2,981 in 2013. In 2014, there were 1,403 deaths (including those of 1,219 males and 184 females) and 6,085 got injured. This implies that about 9 accidents took place every day with about 4 people dying and 17 getting injured.
Reasons cited
The NCRB has reported that over-speeding is the main cause of road accident deaths in HP, which has cost 619 people their lives. This makes for over 44% of the total deaths. The next big cause is dangerous or careless driving or overtaking which has resulted in 510 deaths (around 36%).There were 82 deaths caused due to defect in motor vehicle and 26 people died while driving under the influence of alcohol. National highway versus state highway.
The national highways in the state have reported more deaths as compared to state highways. In 1,264 road accident cases on national highways in 2014, there were 476 deaths and 2,309 persons were injured. On state highways, there were 686 accident cases which resulted in 223 deaths and 1,254 people got injured. However, on other roads, in 1,375 accidents, there were 704 deaths and 2,522 people were injured.
The cars accounted for maximum deaths in HP in 2014 at 397, followed by buses at 308 and trucks/lorries at 185.The maximum road accidents in the state took place between 3 pm and 6 pm (603) followed by 6 pm to 9 pm (558). As for month-wise analysis, the maximum accidents occurred in October (329) followed by October (302) and December (302).
Himachal director general of police (DGP) Sanjay Kumar has admitted there are shortcomings that need to be addressed as far as road safety is concerned.
He said their department was taking up these issues with the Public Works Department (PWD) from time to time. Steps to deal with the problem include marking of road dividers, crash barriers and parapet along the roads, signage to fix speed limits and speed breaker wherever there is a tendency to speed up, he said. He underlined the need for strictness in issuance of driving licences and vehicle fitness certificates.
Cause of accidents on HP roadsCauseCasesInjuredDeathsDangerous/carelessdriving/overtaking14102493510Over
speeding12642350619Drunk
driving6812826Defect in
motor vehicle10127282Animal
crossing7103Weather condition (poor
visibility/other causes)366610Lack of road
infrastructure322Vehicles parked
at road shoulders131Unknown
causes 4110Other
causes431750150
-
How Bengaluru's Sadashivanagar got its name: Karnad Sadashiva Rao | 5 facts
Karnad Sadashiva Rao was a freedom fighter from Mangaluru, Karnataka. He was born in 1881 and fought for India's independence as a key member of the Congress party. He worked alongside Kudmul Ranga Rao, another social worker among the untouchable class in Dakshina Kannada to abolish untouchability. He was one of the first from Karnataka to volunteer for Gandhi's Satyagraha movement. Rao is also known for his role in expanding the Congress party in Karnataka.
-
Tamil Nadu trust making 5000 Khadi flags for free ahead of Independence Day
Atleast five village panchayats in Tamil Nadu would fly the Khadi national flags exclusively produced by the Avvai Ashram of the Gandhigram Trust in Sivasailam, this Independence Day. Apparently inspired by the Centre's 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign, the Gandhigram Trust, situated in Tamil Nadu's southern district of Tirunelveli, has embarked on a mission to churn out 5,000 Khadi flags. The workers, mostly women, have been trained under a livelihood programme of the trust.
-
Punjab drugs case: High court grants bail to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia
A Punjab and Haryana high court bench on Wednesday granted bail to Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a 2021 drugs case. Also read: High court asks Punjab to look into threat perception to a law officer The order was passed by the high court bench of justice MS Ramachandra Rao and justice Sureshwar Thakur, his lawyers confirmed. The detailed order is awaited. At present, Majithia is lodged in the Patiala jail.
-
Widows of Vrindavan design Rakhi for PM Modi
Ahead of Rakshabandhan, a group of old-aged widows of Vrindavan have designed rakhis for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of the annual ritual. The specially designed handmade rakhis to be dispatched from the temple town of western Uttar Pradesh also feature the prime minister's face on them. Sulabh NGO that works with these widows has been training and assisting them for over a decade to learn different skills.
-
‘She is like my sister’: Shrikant Tyagi on woman he assaulted in Noida society
Shrikant Tyagi - the Noida politician whose claims of being a Bharatiya Janata Party leader have been denied by the BJP and who has been arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police for abusing and assaulting a woman - claimed Tuesday the woman 'is like (my) sister' and alleged a 'conspiracy' to 'politically decimate him'. Tyagi was booked Friday; he and his three associates face charges of 'outraging the modesty of a woman' against Tyagi and others.