In a road accident late on Monday night a 20-year-old lost his life after losing balance while riding a two-wheeler on Balliwala flyover. At the time of the mishap, the deceased was not wearing a helmet which resulted in him having serious concussion in his head. He was taken to the nearest hospital, where he succumbed during treatment. Following the accident the police department and State transport authority have appealed people to follow traffic rules.
Superintendent of Police (traffic) Prakash Chandra Arya said, “Nearly 75 per cent of the road accident we see are because of traffic rules violation. People should wear helmet not only to save themselves from being issued challan but for their own safety. Helmet increases survival chances. It is our appeal to the citizens to abide by the traffic rules.”
According to the information provided by STA, from the month of January to May this year 2,78,886 challans were issued to riders without helmet and car users without seat belt on by both transport and police department in Uttarakhand. Also, 2,77,479 people were provided counselling by both the departments. However, senior officers say that in an accident there are multiple stakeholders who play role and the person driving or riding the vehicle is also a stakeholder.
The total number of road accidents reported from the month of January to May this year is 571, in which 364 people were killed and 528 were injured. According to this data the highest number of accidents—137 involved heavy vehicles in which 93 were killed and 91 were injured. In the first five months of this year 79 accidents involving two-wheeler vehicles were reported, in which 33 were killed and 62 injured.
In the year 2018, the number of reported accidents was 1,468, in which 1,047 people were killed and 1,571 were injured. Udham Singh Nagar with 356 accidents, Haridwar with 345 and Dehradun with 317 accidents were the topped the 13 districts in number of accidents. The least number of accidents were reported in Pithoragarh.