Road accidents in city see a 10% drop: Data
The number of accidents in the city dropped by 10% between January and October 2019 to 2,348, from 2,619 during the same period in 2018, data from the state transport department revealed. However, the data showed Mumbai witnessed the most number of accidents in the state in the first 10 months of 2019. The state, meanwhile, recorded 27,363 accidents in this period, a 6.8% drop from 29,350 in 2018.
Between January and October, the number of road accident fatalities in Mumbai reduced by 18% to 322, from 393 during the same period in 2018, while the number of people injured dipped 11.8% to 2,428, from 2,750 last year.
Mumbai has more than 36 lakh vehicles and a 2000-km road network. This means the city has a high vehicle density, which, along with haphazard parking, illegal hawking, Metro works, slows down traffic.Regional transport officers said bumper-to-bumper traffic led to the reduction in the number of accidents, while the traffic police attributed the dip to road safety measures .
“We’re focusing on a multi-pronged approach by cracking down on those who are drink driving and speeding; undertaking awareness drives; and installing crash barriers and speed breakers,” said Madhukar Pandey, joint commissioner of police (traffic), Mumbai. Last year, Maharashtra had recorded the second-highest number of accidents in India, after Uttar Pradesh. To reduce road accidents and fatalities by 10% in every quarter, the government had directed state agencies to closely monitor accidents in all districts. The number of fatalities in the state in the January-October period of 2019 — 10,276 — dropped from 10,873 last year, while the number of people injured— 24,032 — decreased from 26,084 last year. Satara witnessed the maximum spike in the number of accidents — 25% — in the state, while Pune registered the largest drop.