The number of deaths in Chennai this year (up to August) dipped to 332, against the usual number of close to 700. Improved health services and more congested roads are cited as primary reasons for the drop in fatalities.
R Sudhakar, additional commissioner of police, traffic, said, “We analyse the root cause of accidents and identify blackspots (accident-prone zones) and take remedial measures to reduce fatalities”.
The health department mobilised more ambulances near these blackspots to ensure that accident victims reach hospitals within the golden hour (first hour after injury).
And, under the government’s Innuyir Kaapom 48 scheme, accident victims are eligible for free treatment. Even private hospitals do not turn away such emergency cases. More than 1,200 hospitals in Chennai have been empanelled under this scheme.
This is why though Chennai reported the highest number of accidents in the state, the fatality rate is low. More than 80% of the victims were saved as doctors could treat them in time.
Overspeeding usually accounts for 60% of the accidents. But now that most roads in the city are choked with traffic due to metro rail, drainage and other infrastructure works, average vehicular speed has reduced even during non-peak hours. “Also, one should give credits to the traffic police here for stricter traffic checks,” said S Kamal, a transportation activist.
Coimbatore with much wider roads on the outskirts and fewer infra works inside city limits has topped the road accident fatalities chart with close to 700 deaths between April and August 2023. Chengalpet was second with 585 fatalities.
Ever since the Tambaram-Chengalpet section of the Chennai-Trichy national highway was widened to six lanes, heavy vehicles speed at 80-100 kmph putting bikers and pedestrians at high risk.
G Ganesh, a resident-activist from Singaperumalkoil, said many victims are college students and IT employees, who cross the highway to reach railway stations on the other side. Foot over-bridges are few and far between. So, pedestrians tend to jump over medians and put their lives at risk, said Ganesh.
