NAGPUR: Contrary to popular belief that more road accidents occur during monsoon when the roads develop potholes and become slippery, city roads are more dangerous during the summer season, a study on road accidents carried out by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has revealed.
The NCRB studied the data of accidents of 2019 calendar year. Altogether 1,119 accidents were reported across the city of which 419 occurred between March and June, revealed the study. These accidents killed 270 people and left 1,119 injured.
Winter months too saw more accidents, especially January and November when city roads recorded 105 and 97 accidents respectively. During monsoon months (from July to September), the city witnessed 244 accidents.
According to traffic police personnel, the number of accidents was high in summer because of more vehicles on the road as it is vacation time and roads are dug up for various civic work as part of monsoon preparedness. One of the major reasons for rise in accidents is lax enforcement as few cops are on the road due to the harsh weather.
During peak summer, it was observed that motorists, especially two-wheelers, tend to avoid spending more time in the heat and jump signals or sometimes drove wrong side leading to increase in accidents. They either collided with other vehicles or hit pedestrians who are forced to walk on the carriageway as the footpaths are encroached.
The highest number of road accidents were reported in the peak times of 6am to 12 noon and 6pm to 9pm, while the least number of accidents were reported between 12 midnight and 6am.
The accident numbers progressively increased as the day passed. From 6am to 9am, the city roads witnessed 108 accidents, while 187 occurred between 9am and 12 noon and 189 accidents from 6pm to 9pm.
The NCRB data also revealed that two-wheeler riders were most vulnerable to road accidents. Of the 270 deceased, 122 were two-wheeler riders, followed by 81 who died after they were hit by trucks, 15 by rashly driven buses, 23 by cars, and nine by autorickshaws. Two bicycle riders and 10 pedestrians too died in accidents in 2019.
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