8% fall in road accidents in Bihar, but 0.3% rise in fatalities

PATNA: The road accident cases in the state declined by 8.68% but the fatalities increased by 0.3% in the first six months of 2021, as compared to the period in 2019. The state transport department figures also revealed around 10% rise in the number of people getting injured in 2021, compared to 2019. The figures of 2020 were not taken into account because of complete lockdown from March 23 till Unlock 1.0 in May.
As many as 4,040 persons died and 4,402 got injured in the 5,016 road accidents in the state between January and June this year, compared to 5,493 accidents, 4,027 deaths and 4,002 injuries during the period in 2019.
Transport secretary Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said the department has decided to keep record of all road accidents and injuries, even the minor ones. “All the data related to road accidents will be computerised. The trial run of a mobile application developed to create a data base has been going on in several districts,” he said.
“There are 115 black spots in Bihar and most of them are on national highways (NHs) and state highways (SHs). Black spots are those where 10 or more deaths are reported in a year. Now, we have formed teams in every districts to identify the grey spots to reduce road accidents. The team will identify the spots where five deaths and more than 10 accidents took place in a year. Based on the data, the department will be able to work on 4 Es of road safety — education, enforcement, engineering and emergency care,” Agarwal said.
“In 50% of the road accidents, trucks, lorries or heavy commercial vehicles are involved. Though there was a complete lockdown in Bihar in 2020. commercial vehicles were allowed to ply in 2021,” he said.
Agarwal further said that chances of road accidents have increased when things are manual. “Now, we have automated driving test track in Patna and Aurangabad. All the drivers will have to go through this test before they get their driving licences. After the automated driving test, there will be less scope for fault among the drivers and road accidents will also be reduced. The driving tracks will be developed in all the districts by next financial year and ten districts will get the tracks by March 2022,” Agarwal said.
Meanwhile, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report released recently mentioned 8,633 accidents and 6,634 deaths from January to December in 2020 while 10,007 accidents and 7,205 deaths during the same period in 2019. Of which, 7,177 died due to negligence relating to road accidents and 1,385 were victims of hit and run.