Accident toll remains high on rural roads

NASHIK: The number of fatal accidents registered with the Nashik rural police have dropped this year, but the number of deaths reported in these accidents is alarming nonetheless. In view of this the police have decided to focus their attention in areas like Sinnar, Wavi, Nashik taluka, Wadivarhe and Jaikheda, which witness higher number of accidents, to bring down the number of fatalities.
Till October this year, 577 fatal accidents were reported with 640 deaths in the jurisdiction of the Nashik rural police, which is marginally lower than the 640 accidents with 661 deaths registered during the corresponding period last year.
The police said the reason for the alarming number of fatalities was faulty road engineering, lack of proper enforcement of rules by the authorities concerned and poor traffic sense among motorists.
District superintendent of police Sanjay Mohite said, “Efforts are underway to ensure that the road accidents are at the minimum. We are coordinating with different departments to see to it that signboards, rumblers, boards highlighting speed limits, cat-eyes and zebra crossings are put up wherever necessary. The action by the traffic police is also continuous. The work of every traffic policeman is being reviewed on a weekly basis to assess his/her performance. All such measures have resulted in the drop in the number of fatal accidents this year.”
Till October this year, the rural police have booked 30,894 offenders under the Motor Vehicle Act. As many as 6,264 motorists have been sent to court for not installing reflectors and tail-lamps on their vehicles, besides another 340 motorists for drunk driving.
Other senior officials said that drives against drunk driving and catching hold of motorists without reflectors and tail-lamps on their vehicles are taken up on a continuous basis and the action taken by the traffic police is reviewed by the superintendent of police regularly. Those doing good work are appreciated and even rewarded, but necessary action is also taken against those who fail to perform.
While some places in the district had shown a rise in the number of fatal accidents, other places showed a significant drop. For instance, places like Pimpalgaon, Deola, Azadnagar and Chhavni in Malegaon have seen a significant drop in the number of road accidents this year as compared to last year. At the same time, Sinnar, Wavi, Jaikheda and some other areas have registered a rise.
Road widening, along with the efforts undertaken by the police in co-ordination with other departments, has helped reduce the number of fatalities in road accidents.
SP Mohite said that in May this year, a gas tanker descending from Rahud Ghat and heading towards Malegaon, jumped the divider on the four-lane national highway no. 3 after its driver lost control of the vehicle and tore into the rear side of an MSRTC bus coming from the opposite direction, before hitting a car and a milk tanker, all heading towards Nashik. Following the accident, the rural police had written to the NHAI asking it to maintain the rumblers on the ghat and put up cat-eyes and reflectors to caution the drivers about the steep turns on the foothills. Since the works were taken up, not a single accident has been reported on Rahud Ghat in the last four to five months.
“Similarly, we have also put up speed-breakers and rumblers at the mouth of the approach roads connecting the highways. This has helped prevent motorists on the approach roads from barging into other vehicles on the highway without checking the traffic, thereby bringing sown the number of accidents,” Mohite added.