In 2022, nearly 12,032 persons were killed in road accidents that occurred in the state and National Highways in Tamil Nadu.
Published Sep 06, 2023 | 7:20 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 06, 2023 | 7:20 PM
Upto the month of February 2023 (Provisional) the most number of accidents have occured in State Highways (35%) followed by National Highways under NHAI (26%)
Six members of a family, including a one-year-old girl, died on the spot in a road accident after their car rammed a loaded lorry from behind on the Salem-Erode-Kochi Highway in the early hours of Wednesday, 6 September.
According to the police, the lorry was parked on a roadside when the Omni van with eight persons crashed into it from behind.
Four of the deceased were identified as M Arumugam (49), S Palanisamy (50) P Papathi (47), and A Manjula (38), all from Kuttapalayam Ingur in the Perundurai Taluk.
Others to die were P Selvaraj (48), a resident of Periya Kuravampalayam in the Gobichettipalayam taluk, and R Sanjana, a one-year-old from Kondalampatti in Salem.
The baby’s mother R Priya (25) and A Viki alias Vignesh (35), who was driving the car, suffered grievous injuries and were admitted to Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital in Salem.
Highway patrolmen alerted the local police and also the ambulance services. The fire and rescue services were also called in to assist in removing the bodies from the damaged car.
The bodies of the deceased were shifted to the Government Hospital (GH) at Sankari.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Priya was married to Rajadurai of Kondalampatti and had a child — Sanjana.
The couple recently had a dispute between them. In order to sort it out, Priya and her parents Palanisamy, Papathi, her uncle and aunt Arumugam and Manjula, and Arumugam’s son Vignesh and another relative Selvaraj went to Rajadurai’s house at Kondalampatti in the Salem district.
They were returning home in Kuttapalayam Ingur from these discussions when the accident took place.
Around 2.30 am, when their vehicle was nearing Chinnagoundanur, Vignesh is said to have lost control of the vehicle, which collied the lorry, totally destroying the front portion of the car.
Salem Collector S Karmegam and Superintendent of Police (SP) AK Arun Kabilan inspected the accident spot and directed the intensification of highway patrolling.
The SP also warned of stringent action against unauthorised roadside parking.
The Sankari police registered a case under Sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) of the IPC in this regard. The lorry driver was arrested.
In 2022, nearly 12,032 people were killed in road accidents that occurred in the state and National Highways in Tamil Nadu, compared to 15,384 deaths in 2021.
Source – State Crime Record Bureau
According to the provisional data from the state’s Transport Department, an average of 48 persons die in a day, due to road accidents.
Up to February 2023 (provisional), the highest number of accidents were caused by two-wheelers (47 percent of total accidents), followed by four-wheelers like cars, jeeps, taxis, vans, tempos, and LMVs (27 percent of total accidents), the provisional data report stated.
The maximum Fatalities are by two-wheelers (44 percent), followed by four-wheelers (23 percent), and goods carriages like trucks and lorries (15 percent).
The maximum fatalities were caused by two-wheelers due to the not wearing of helmets, noted the provisional report.
Further, 5.68 percent of the fatalities in the state occurred in the Coimbatore District, 5.4 percent in Chengalpattu, and 4.83 percent in Tiruppur.
Comparison of Total Accidents and Total Deaths according to Type of vehicles – Source :State Crime Record Bureau
Up to the month of February, the most number of accidents occurred on state highways (35 percent), followed by National Highways under NHAI (26 percent), district roads (18 percent), and village roads (13 percent).
More deaths happened on state highways (35 percent) followed by National Highways under NHAI (30 percent) up to February 2023 in Tamil Nadu.
Out of the 10,909 total accidents, 10,376 accidents took place due to the fault of the driver, which comes to 95.11 percent.
The major causes of the accidents were speeding, aggressive driving, use of cellphones while driving, and drunken driving.
According to Transport Department officials, a total of 9,535 driving licences were suspended up to the month of February 2023 for traffic violations of six offences identified by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety.
They added that traffic discrepancies have been a major source of death, injury, and damage to property every year.
Speeding of vehicles on the highways was the main reason for road-accident casualties.
It is to be noted that India signed the global declaration to cut road deaths by 50 percent by 2030.
