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G.K. Nair

The scene of an accident on NH 47 at Aroor.

KOCHI, May 15

ACCIDENT deaths in Kerala are on the increase, of late, elevating the State to the third position in the country.

At least 2,700 people died in accidents in 2001, while 50,000 were injured. There has been a significant increase in such mishaps, with 42 per cent of the accidents occurring on national highways, official sources said.

A majority of the vehicles involved were two-wheelers, and not a single day passes without reports of such fatal mishaps, they added.

According to traffic rules, the maximum speed limit allowed to two wheelers is 50 km per hour in highways, but few stick to this limit.

Similarly, speed limits had been fixed for all types of vehicles but a majority of them do not adhere to these.

Flouting traffic rules is the main cause of accidents. The sources said that overspeeding and competition among bus drivers was responsible for accidents involving buses.

In fact, 90 per cent of the accidents were caused by the negligence of the drivers, especially of lorry/bus drivers who even ignore the sign boards displayed to warn them of accident-prone and slippery areas on the highways.

Though there has been a substantial increase in the number of vehicles, the roads have not been widened and maintained properly to accommodate them. The number of two-wheelers has gone up substantially in recent years, with 50 per cent of the vehicles registered belonging to this category.

Expansion of the roads in most of the towns and cities is a difficult task because it involves acquisition and rehabilitation, which in turn involve heavy outgo of funds.

"Therefore, the best method is constructing bye-pass stretches; these can be done with private participation under BOT scheme like the bye-pass in Coimbatore," the sources said.

Besides, there should be strict enforcement of traffic rules and the authorities must take necessary steps to create awareness among the driving public on the need to drive safely. Periodical testing of vehicles also needs to be carried out strictly, they added.

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Kerala: Accident deaths on the increase

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