GUWAHATI, Feb 7 - While road accident deaths have dipped in 25 States and Union Territories in the first half of 2017, Assam, Bihar, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh have seen an increase in road accident fatalities between two and eight per cent during this period.
This and other related issues came up for discussion during the week-long Road Safety Week organised by Consumers� Legal Protection Forum (CLPF), Assam, with support of Consumer VOICE, Delhi.
The theme of the occasion was �5 Days 5 Pledges � for Road Safety�.
Awareness camps were held at Narengi Anchalik Mahavidyalay, BRM Government Law College, Ramanujan Academy and SR Academy on each day on five different topics � Helmet, Seat Belt, Child Restraint, Drink Driving, Over Speeding and Road Design.
The Road Safety Week concluded with a media meet at Guwahati Press Club today where journalists interacted with CLPF officials on road safety issues.
Advocate Ajoy Hazarika, secretary, CLPF, said that even as road accident deaths have recorded a diminishing trend across most of the States and UTs, it was disturbing that Assam was still witnessing a rising incidence of the menace.
Globally, about 1.3 million people die each year on roads and between 20 and 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries.
�Road traffic crashes are a major cause of death among all age groups and the leading cause of death among those aged 15-29 years. As per the annual publication Road Accidents in India-2016, a total of 4,80,652 road accidents took place resulting into 1,50,785, road traffic deaths and 4,94,624 injuries in a year. Everyday 1,317 accidents take place and 413 persons killed on Indian roads,� he said.
The programme highlighted the importance of risk factors and also about the provisions of the Motor Vehicles (A) Bill. India can fulfil its commitment to the United Nations of reducing fatalities by 50 per cent by the year 2020 through passage of MV (A) Bill 2017 and its proper implementation by the State governments.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2017 has been passed by the Lok Sabha, and is awaiting the Rajya Sabha nod.
In Assam alone, 741 road crashes, 6,127 injuries and 2,572 road fatalities took place in the year 2016. More than 3,200 lives perished in over 9,550 road accidents in the seven States of the Northeast in 2016.
�Driver�s fault� was the single most
important factor responsible for road
accidents. There were 4,03,598 accidents for which the drivers were at fault. Most of the fatal accidents occurred because of �speeding�.