Road accident deaths in state decrease by 17.5% this year
The deaths due to road accidents across the state have witnessed a decline of 17.56 per cent till July 31 this year compared to the corresponding period of 2023. Similarly, injuries due to road accidents and total number of road accidents have also come down.
97 black spots identified across the state
The police have identified 97 black spots across the state. The department concerned has been asked to rectify these points. We have also opted for an intelligent traffic management system, which has helped in reducing the total number of road accidents. — Gurdev Chand Sharma, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Traffic Tourism and Railways
From January 1 till July 31, Himachal Pradesh had recorded 446 deaths due to road accidents, while in 541 fatalities were reported during the same period last year.
Sixty deaths in Shimla district, 58 in Mandi, 45 in Una, 43 each in Kangra and Sirmour, 34 in Chamba, 25 in Baddi, 22 in Kullu, 19 in Bilaspur, 15 each in Nurpur and Solan, 13 in Hamirpur, 6 in Kinnaur and five in Lahaul and Spiti have been reported till July 31 this year.
In 2023, Mandi district had recorded 58 fatalities due to road accidents, Shimla 53, Kangra 52, Baddi 42, Una and Sirmour 39 each, Kullu 33, Bilaspur 31, Chamba 27, Solan 24, Nurpur 20, Hamirpur and Kinnaur 14 each and Lahaul & Spiti had recorded one death due to the road accidents.
Though many districts recorded an increase in the number of deaths this year as compared to 2023, the overall fatality rate has declined.
The injuries due to the road accidents have also witnessed a slight decline of 1.27 per cent as 2,092 persons sustained injuries due to road accidents during the first seven months of 2024, as compared to 2,119 persons hurt in the accidents last year.
Gurdev Chand Sharma, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Traffic Tourism and Railways (TTR), said the police had been taking steps to reduce the incidence of the road accidents in the state. He said rash and negligent driving was found to be the main reason behind the accidents.
“To prevent accidents, the police have identified 97 black spots across the state. The black spots have been reported to the department concerned for their rectification. We have also opted for an intelligent traffic management system (ITMS), which has helped reduce the total number of road accidents across the state,” he said.
In order to reduce the road accidents across the state, Director General of Police (DGP) Atul Verma, in a meeting held in August, had directed Superintendents of Police (SP) of all districts to identify causes of behind road traffic accidents in their areas and implement corrective measures to prevent these.
Recently, the police had decided to instal LED display boards to flash road safety alerts to reduce road accidents. First such board had been installed near Government College, Kangra.
