The coronavirus pandemic, which is forcing many people to largely stay home, appears to have come as a blessing in disguise for road safety in Uttar Pradesh.
The latest road accident data from the transport department shows a steep fall in the number of road accidents and deaths during April, May and June in the state. The 70-day national Covid-19 lockdown was in force in April and May and was implemented from March 25.
Dheeraj Sahu, the transport commissioner, said the lockdown in April and May and the fact that not many people were travelling even after the lockdown was lifted in June was obviously responsible for a lower number of road accidents and deaths.
Better enforcement of rules also played a key role, Sahu claimed.
April saw a fall in the number of road accidents and deaths, shows data.
As per the available data, 765 road accidents took place in the state in April in which 438 people were killed against 3,512 accidents and 1,967 deaths in April 2019. The drop in the accidents and deaths was found to be by 21.78% and 22.26%, respectively.
The data shows there was a bigger fall in May when there were travel restrictions due to the lockdown but the number of road accidents involving migrants returning home was also reported during this month.
The number of road accidents and deaths was reported to be 1,964 and 1,185 in May this year vis-à-vis 4,223 mishaps and 2,314 deaths in the same month last year.
{{/usCountry}}The number of road accidents and deaths was reported to be 1,964 and 1,185 in May this year vis-à-vis 4,223 mishaps and 2,314 deaths in the same month last year.
{{/usCountry}}The drop in the number of accidents and deaths was as high as 53.5% and 48.8%, respectively.
Shravasti district recorded only two road accidents and no death during the month.
Other districts like Shamli, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Pilibhit, Moradabad, Banda, Ambedkar Nagar, Mahoba, Agra, Bhadohi, Baghpat, Jhansi, Meerut and Gonda recorded the biggest decline both in the number of road accidents and deaths in May.
Road accident deaths fell by over 70% in these districts in May compared with the corresponding month in the previous year.
In June, the number of road accidents and resultant deaths fell by 32.8% and 27%, respectively compared to the corresponding month of 2019. The sharpest drop was recorded in the districts of Sultanpur (69.8%), Sambhal (65.4%), Ambedkar Nagar (64%), Sonbhadra (63%) and Mathura (60%).
“The number of road accidents in June this year was reported to be only 2,786 against 4,143 in June last year, registering a significant decline of 32.8% while the number of deaths also fell from 2,284 in June to 1,667 in June this year, the decline being 27%,” Sahu said.
He said the declining trend had started since the beginning of 2020 well before the lockdown.
“The number of road accidents and deaths between January and March was reported to have fallen by 9.59% and 6.74% respectively compared to the same period in 2019,” he said.
However, much of the decline between January and March was also because of the fact that there was a complete lockdown between March 25 and 31 after a one-day ‘Janata Curfew’ on March 24.
“Thus, the movement of vehicles was largely restricted, especially on highways, for eight days in March reflecting in overall lower accidents and deaths in the first quarter of the calendar year,” an official in the know of things said.