Road accidents, casualties reduce by over 6% in 2019

Dehradun: The number of road accidents and casualties in such incidents in the state have reduced by 6% in the first two months of 2019 when compared with the same period in 2018.

According to data with the police department, Uttarakhand witnessed 228 accidents in January and February against 245 in the same period in 2018.

The number of accidental deaths have also fallen by over 6% during the same period when compared to last year. Nearly 153 persons were killed between January 1 and February 28 as against 163 casualties in first two months of 2018.

Kewal Khurana, deputy inspector general (Traffic), said, “Our aim is to achieve the target of 15% reduction in both road accidents and casualties by the end of this year.”

Chamoli and Tehri emerged as the best performing districts when it came to road safety, according to the traffic directorate.

In Chamoli, the number of accidents in January and February has come down to three from 11 last year, while Tehri has recorded eight accidents in the two months compared to 15 last year.

“Both districts have also witnessed reduction in number of accidental deaths. Dehradun and Haridwar have recorded slight decrease in number of accidents,” said Khurana.

Incidentally, accidents had decreased by 9% in 2018 in Uttarakhand, but the number of fatalities had increased by 11%. About 1,467 road accidents took place in 2018 with nearly 1,046 people losing their lives in those accidents.