22 March,2017 08:01 PM IST | | Shashank Rao
Traffic police's accident hotspots map shows not an inch of space across the city is safe. Rash driving makes Mumbai accident capital; traffic cops to up CCTV surveillance to punish offenders
File pic of an accident near Lower Parel. Representation Pic
No road is too safe in Mumbai. At least, that's what the latest statistics of the Mumbai traffic police reveal. At Tuesday's meeting between the transport department and the city traffic police, the latter pointed out that not an inch of space on Mumbai's roads had been spared of blood and gore.
With nearly a lakh accidents in the last five years, traffic cops are now planning to up CCTV cover across Mumbai to fight the growing menace.
The Mumbai traffic police have blamed rash driving and total lack of traffic discipline for the rise in the number of accidents in the city. Between 2012-2016, Mumbai witnessed around 97,602 road accidents. Around 2,802 people lost their lives, 11,257 people were seriously injured and 8,990 suffered minor injuries in these accidents. The only saving grace was last year when there was a slight decline in the number of fatal accidents.
"Motorists lack patience. There is little respect for traffic rules. The result is road accidents," said traffic and transport expert AV Shenoy.
This is the map of the accident hotspots across Mumbai and Thane
Over 2.78 crore vehicles ply on Maharashtra's roads. The numbers have increased four-fold since 2000. Additional Chief Secretary (transport) Manoj Saunik said, "There is a need for road safety to be inculcated since childhood, so there's a change in mindset".
Traffic cops have decided to increase CCTV cover across the city in order to punish offenders. "The only way to monitor motorists, who breach traffic rules, is through improved technology. We will be installing more high definition CCTVs on vital roads within a month's time," said Milind Bharambe, joint commissioner of police (traffic). Bharambe said that the use of high definition CCTVs, introduced in 2016, was one of the reasons behind the dip in the number of road accidents and fatalities in the city. The traffic police is planning to increase CCTV surveillance on the Eastern Freeway, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road and Marine Drive, among others.
Yesterday, transport minister Diwakar Raote had announced his department was looking into the possibility of having a separate one-time tax that would be levied on vehicle buyers, which would be used to compensate those injured in road accidents.
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Four hurt in crash between luxury car, superbike at Mumbai. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
