Travelling on Punjab roads is rendezvous with death. On an average, nine persons die every day in accidents on the state’s roads.
Data provided in reply to an unstarred question during the ongoing monsoon session of the Punjab Assembly reveals that a total of 8103 persons steer clear of death during the past three years, while 10653 others sustained injuries.
Since July 31 this year, the journey has ended before the destination for no less than 1248 persons — witnessing a death of six persons, on an average, every day.
The data also brings to fore the inability of the cops and authorities concerned to apply brakes to fatal accidents.
In reply to the question raised by Congress MlA Ajaib Singh Bhatti, the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal provided the information of the road accidents since 2013 till July 31, 2015.
The figures indicate that more people are being killed in accidents on the state’s roads than during the period of militancy.
The data also reveals that the number of deaths is alarmingly increasing every year. While 3317 persons were killed during 2013-14, the number stood at 3538 during 2014-15. Till July 31, already 1248 have lost their lives on State’s roads cutting through the length and breadth of the State.
Punjab has already been declared as the state with highest number of deaths in road accidents in the country.
Pointing at a correlation between the illiteracy and road accidents, the latest report by the Transport Research Wing of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have found that 70 per cent of all road accidents in Punjab are caused by people who are matric pass or even lesser.
As per the report classifying accidents according to educational qualifications of drivers in 2014, 1317 persons involved out of the total 6391 accidents reported in Punjab studied up to Class VIII, 2,055 up to Class VIII-X, 1,941 were of Class X and above, while the qualification of 1078 were unknown.
The experts believed that the lack of understanding of traffic rules, recklessness, driving under intoxication, over-speeding by the semi-literates are some of the causes of road accidents.
As per the Ministry’s report, ludhiana city has become “deadliest” in India. It stated that chances of getting killed in a road accident are highest in ludhiana in the whole country with the chance percentage standing at 67 per cent. Second in the list is Amritsar which stands at over 60 per cent.
Staggering amidst high rate of fatal accidents, especially on the highways, the State Government although come out with several suggestions and recommendations, but nothing has been implemented on the ground.
Driving at the road safety, the Vidhan Sabha committee in 2011 had recommended cancellation of driving licence after three violations for five years, written tests for getting driving licence, viva voce for illiterates, increasing insurance premium after every accident, suppressing loud, alarming and unusual horns, disallowing functioning of roadside liquor vends on highways and main roads, among others — the Punjab government did a little in this direction.