Road accidents can be reduced by 82 % if proper precautions taken during driving

Ahmedabad: In the past one decade, over 1.3 million people have been killed in road accidents. Glimpse at the statistics reveals that more than 4 lakh accidents take place on road and more than 92618 lives are lost due to road accident every year. In India and world over, more than 75% of the total accidents are caused by errors committed by drivers. The miseries that road accidents cause are enormous in terms of loss of human lives and property damages. With safe driving practices these can be reduced by 82 %.

Gujarat Technological University (GTU) organised Road Safety Week during 9th to 15th January in association with Ahmedabad Traffic Consultative Committee (ATCC). Under the guidance of Prof. (Dr) Navin Sheth, Vice Chancellor of GTU, Two Awareness seminars were held at Aadishwar College of Technology and Vishwakarma Government Engineering College. RTO expert Shri Shaheriar Zaveri gave guidance to around 160 students as well as faculty members. He gave some valuable tips about precautions during driving.

Shri Zaveri said that around 90 % accident victims die due to head injuries. So if you wear helmet, it will not only protect your head, but also protect your life. Similarly, by wearing seat belt, accident toll can be reduced by 50 %. There is a myth that if you use front break in Two-wheeler, it may be dangerous. But if you press both the break, it can be safer. In India, advanced training is not given to drivers for safe driving. This is need of the hour.

The analysis of road accident data 2015 reveals that about 1,374 accidents and 400 deaths take place every day on Indian roads which further translates into 57 accidents and loss of 17 lives on an average every hour  in our country. About 54.1 per cent of all persons killed in road accidents were in the 15 -34 years age group during the year 2015. With one of the highest motorization growth rate in the world, accompanied by rapid expansion in road network and urbanization over the years, our country is faced with serious impacts on road safety levels.