'Speed thrills but kills': Over 29k people died on Andhra roads in 4 years

Vijayawada: A total of 29,285 people were killed due to exceeding lawful speed on the roads in Andhra Pradesh from 2016 to 2020. Road Accidents in India-2020 data published by the Transport Research Wing of the ministry of transport show that Andhra Pradesh stood at 9th rank in deaths due to the over-speeding for the past few years.

Among the accidents classified according to the type of traffic violations, over-speeding is the major cause of the higher number (over 70 percent) of the deaths in road crashes in Andhra Pradesh. In 2020, 19,509 road accidents, including 6,531 fatal accidents took place in the state, and 7,039 people were killed. Of the total road crashes, as many as 14,716 accidents took place in the state due to over-speeding and 5,227 people lost their lives and 3,984 people suffered grievous injuries.

According to data, 5,564 people died in 2016 in Andhra Pradesh due to over-speeding. This number increased to 6,768 in 2017 and dipped to 6,196 in 2018, further dipped to 5,530 in 2019, and again dipped to 5,227 in 2020. However, the deaths due to over-speeding have been contributing to between 60 to and 70 percent of the total deaths in road crashes in the state.

It is not so easy to check overspeeding and negligent driving round the clock with speed laser guns. We have been appealing to motorists to follow the traffic norms to mitigate road crashes. Over speeding is the major reason because that is mentioned by the complainant in the FIRs. We have to invest in the latest infrastructure so that commuters don't drive beyond the permissible speed limits, said a senior police officer with the traffic wing. The speed limit on the National Highways and State Highways in Andhra Pradesh is 80 to 100 mph but the majority of the motorists have been exceeding the speed limit and involved in road crashes.

Research has suggested that focusing on over-speeding, curbing drunken driving, and using helmets and seat belts can help reduce a large number of road injuries and deaths The absence of the speed limit display boards on some stretches is another reason for the over-speeding of vehicles.

KEY POINTS

-A total of 39,180 people had died in road crashes from 2016 to 2020 in AP

-As many as 29,285 people were killed due to over-speeding (from 2016 to 2020)

-Around 1,000 people died due to driving on the wrong side in AP (2016-2020)

-358 people had died due to drunken driving or consuming drug in AP (2016-2020)

-The use of mobile phones while driving led to 208 deaths in AP (2016-2020)