Following implementation of new traffic rules by the Odisha Government, the State registered a marginal decrease in motor vehicle accidents this year compared to previous years.
The road accident fatalities during the quarter of July to September, 2019 have come down by about 4.5 per cent compared to the same period of 2018, according to a report of the Road Safety Council, Odisha, on Wednesday.
The report revealed that fatalities during September, 2019 have declined by about 12% compared to the same month last year.
The new Motor Vehicles (MV) Act that came into effect in the State on September 1, 2019, is assumed as the major factors in reduction of road fatalities. Though the law was in force for a period of only eight days, after which relaxation was extended for three months to ensure the vehicle users to avail the documents, the State witnessed a significant decline in accidents during the month.
However, the fatalities increased at a very high rate in the districts like Boudh, Rayagada, Subaranapur, Kandhamal, Deogarh and Malkangiri though the numbers of vehicle users are comparatively minimal there.
“Efforts will continue to reduce the fatalities rate in coming days. During the relaxation period, over 5 lakh driving licences have been issued to the applicants,” said Transport Minister Padmanabh Behera after chairing a meeting of the Road Safety Council here.
The authorities have observed that several persons are riding motor vehicles without proper training. To take action against them, police and transport officials have been asked to impose fine on such vehicle users, he said.
Behera made it clear that checking of documents and vehicles would be strictly carried out both in rural and urban areas under the new Act after the relaxation deadline ends. Besides, patrolling would be tightened on National Highways and black spots would be identified by March, he told reporters.
Notably, India is placed at the top with highest number of road accidents in the world. In 2018, about 1.5 lakh people were killed in accidents across the country. As per the statistics of road accidents, 17 lives on an average are lost every hour in India.
In Odisha, as many as 5,315 people died and over 5,000 people were seriously injured in road mishaps in the year 2018. A total of 38,204 were killed in the past decade. The State registered a fatality rate 47% against the national average of 32%. During January to September 2019, a total 4,115 fatalities occurred in Odisha at a growth of 7.5% compared to the same period of last year.
In view of the rising fatality rate in Odisha over last few years, the Supreme Court had constituted a committee under the chairmanship of retired judge Radhakrishnan in 2014 to review the road accidents scenario and monitor implementation of road safety initiatives in the State. The fatalities had increased by 35.2% during the period of 2014 to 2018 in the State.