Shocking Statistics reveal that India recorded over 600 road accidents with 140 deaths from March 25 to May 3 in the lockdown period, most of them due to over speeding.
The nationwide lockdown has been in place since March 25 and since then, it has already been more than 45 days. In this time, most people stayed home and our roads across the country were virtually empty. People were going out only for essential purposes or for medical needs. In spite of most people not taking to the wheel and strict measures by state and central police, India managed to record 600 road accidents in the first two phases of the lockdown. While its bizarre how this could happen in the first place, it also highlights our negligence towards the pandemic.
This data comes from a report by SaveLife Foundation which is an organisation that has been working for better road safety measures across the country. Out of the 600 road accidents that were recorded between March 24 and May 3, there were as many as 140 deaths. More than 100 of these deaths have been recorded in 9 states which includes Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Assan, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The report also states that the reason for most of these crashes were none other than over speeding.
During this entire duration of lockdown, we have been consistently reporting to you about cops seizing several vehicles and penalizing drivers for breaking lockdown rules. We have even reported to you about a couple of deadly accidents during the lockdown and it does not come as a surprise that even when the entire nation was confined to their homes, we had as many as 600 road accidents with even 140 deaths. Considering that the streets would be empty, many people took to the roads in late hours of the night or in early morning and thought it is the best time to test how fast their cars really are. The result of that action speaks in the statistics here.
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The statistics also reveal that 57% of the deaths recorded were of those who were driving themselves but more interestingly, 30% of the deaths were of migrant workers who were trying to make their way home. Interstate travel was banned during the lockdown which left thousands of migrant workers stranded in the cities in dire situation. With no other alternative, most migrant workers either took to walking on foot all the way back to their homes or found themselves a ride in cargo trucks that were allowed to ply during the lockdown. What’s even more surprising is that these deaths also included doctors and essential service providers who were travelling between home and work.
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Surely there has been a drop in the number of absolute road accidents and casualties during the lockdown with most people being confined to their homes. However, the rate of death in road accidents surprisingly continue to be the same as before. Such callous actions on part of citizens is absolutely shameful. What is really needful is that state governments should prioritize road safety in these times for interstate travel as the healthcare system of the country is already overwhelmed by rising coronavirus cases and road accidents should not be an added burden on them.
