Nagpur: The menace of road mishaps continues to take heavy toll as many as 102 persons lost their lives in fatal road accidents caused by trucks in Nagpur in the last 15 months.
The statistics, provided by Traffic Police in an RTI reply, highlighted the need for immediate restrictions on the entry of heavy vehicles in the city limits. The query was posed by activist Abhay Kolarkar under Right to Information (RTI). A total of 255 persons were killed in 1,022 fatal road accidents from January 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021. Five persons were killed in 29 road accidents caused by buses, 51 died in 316 mishaps caused by cars while 102 persons died in just 200 accidents caused by trucks.
The statistics further show that a higher number of fatalities occurred in the accidents caused by the trucks. A road safety expert said that trucks are much more likely to be involved in a fatal multi vehicle crash than any other passenger vehicles. Driver fatigue, unsafe or careless driving, improper loading, defective brakes are the major reasons behind the accidents caused by trucks, the RTI activist said.
The RTI response also mentioned that 36 persons were killed in 101 road accidents that occurred on the Ring Road. The traffic police are also continuously slapping fines against rule violators in the last 15 months. A total of 2,48,999 two-wheeler riders were fined for not wearing helmet, 49,398 signal jumpers and 13,939 over-speeders were also challaned by the police. Similarly, 69,262 persons were caught by the police for using mobile phones while driving, a whopping 84,379 persons were held for driving without license and 5,032 for wrong side driving, the traffic police informed in a reply to the query
