Shimla/Dharamshala, July 5 — The bus accident in Kullu’s Sainj valley, which claimed the lives of 13 people, has once again cast the spotlight on the high incidence of road mishaps on Himachal Pradesh’s narrow roads.
As per official data, Himachal Pradesh has recorded the highest road fatalities among the three northern hill states, including Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, with an average of three deaths per day. Annually, around 3,000 people lose their lives in road mishaps in Himachal Pradesh, while 105 are killed in around 200 aciidents reported in the state per month.
Himachal also has a high road crash severity rate (the number of persons killed per 100 accidents) of nearly 40%, which is higher than the national rate of around 33%.
As per a survey conducted by the traffic, tourist and railways (TTR) wing of the Himachal Pradesh police, a total of 13,740 accidents took place in the state over last five years (2017-2021), in which around 5,503 people lost their lives.
Last year, the state recorded a total of 2,404 accidents, in which 1,053 people lost their lives. The highest road mishaps are reported in Jammu and Kashmir, but the severity rate for the UT is just 16%.
Around 3,634 fatalities were reported in the 22,000 road accidents reported in Jammu and Kashmir between 2017-2020. Among the three hill states, Uttarakhand has the highest severity ratio of nearly 64% among the three states. The state recorded 3,530 fatalities in about 5,464 road crashes in the corresponding period.
In the annual Road Accidents in India report published by the ministry of road transport and highways, Himachal is ranked 22nd in terms of accidents and 20th in terms of fatalities in the country.
Rash driving, speeding, dangerous overtaking, drugs and alcohol consumption, slippery and uneven road surfaces, suspected vehicle defects, adverse weather, non-provision of parapets and crash barriers on outer curves are to blame for the road mishaps. However, accounting for around 90% of all accidents, human error remains the primary cause for the accidents in the state.
Director general of police Sanjay Kundu said, “Mostly accidents take place due to human negligence and violations such as not wearing helmets and seat belts, drunk driving and speeding. Another reason is poor road engineering, no-crash barriers and poor pedestrian infrastructure. Inclement weather, leading to landslides and rockslides, area also among the major causes for the accidents,” said Kundu.
“Critical analysis of the road traffic accidents (RTAs) database for the last 5 years has been carried out to identify black spots, clusters, stretches, causes, timings and collision types for working out specific remedies,” the police chief said, adding that strict enforcement of traffic rules, rectification of black spots, erection of crash barriers, use of reflective clothing and patches by pedestrians are some of the measures being taken.
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