Tiruvallur highways saw 246 fatal accidents in 7 months

Highways in the neighbouring Tiruvallur district have recorded a total of 246 fatal accidents involving 259 deaths between January and October of this year alone, making them some of the most perilous stretches in the state.

According to statistics obtained from the Tiruvallur district police headquarters, the accident count has reduced this year as compared to 2017, when a total of 346 fatal accidents involving the death of 360 people were recorded.

The district has a total of 550 kilometres of state and national highways including NH5, the four-lane Chennai – Kolkata highway, NH205, the Chennai – Tirupati highway, besides 11 state highways. All highways in the district lead to Andhra Pradesh.

Police officials said that reckless driving and motorists entering national and state highways from smaller roads were the main reasons behind most of the mishaps. Reports revealed that a total of 92 deaths this year were due to sudden entry of motorists while 24 accidents were hit-and-run mishaps. At least 18 fatal accidents were due to animals obstructing speeding vehicles.

Following the alarming number of fatal accidents, police said that several encroachments along highways were removed during the year 2017 besides eliminating hoardings from the roads following a court order. “We have also identified a total of 63 black spots and 100 policemen have been deployed in highway patrolling to bring down the accident counts,” a senior police official said.

The district police claimed that they have also conducted a total 6,678 camps across the district so far this year to spread awareness among public on traffic accidents and how they could be avoided. “Last year, we have conducted a total of 5,684 similar camps to spread awareness on road mishaps,” the official said.

They also said that a total of 14,275 drivers’ licenses were recommended for suspension for various driving violations so far this year. The district SP has formed special chat groups on WhatsApp to monitor road accidents and coordinate with officials immediately on a daily basis. “Dozens of check posts have also been put along the highways to check overspeeding vehicles,” the official added.

Tamil Nadu has the dubious distinction of recording high number of road fatalities when compared with the rest of the country for the past several years. Despite various measures taken by the police, no major decline has been seen in the number of fatal road accidents.