Road accidents claim 403 lives in Warangal tri-cities

The people died in a total of 1,032 road accidents, while 1,000 others sustained injuries in these accidents from January 1 to November 2022 under the Warangal Police Commissionerate limits.

Warangal: Despite several measures to contain road accidents, as many as 403 people died in a total of 1,032 road accidents, while 1,000 others sustained injuries in these accidents from January 1 to November 2022 under the Warangal Police Commissionerate limits, according to police records. Three districts — Hanamkonda, Warangal, and Jangaon — fall under the jurisdiction of the Warangal Police Commissionerate.

A total of 426 people lost their lives in road accidents in 2021 under the Warangal Police Commissionerate limits, while 1,110 people sustained injuries in a total of 1,106 accidents. In 2020, 386 people were killed and 950 people sustained injuries in a total of 984 accidents. The number of fatal road accidents went up in 2021 by 9.94 per cent, according to police records. “Rash and negligent driving by youngsters and not wearing helmets are the main reasons for the increase in fatal road accidents,” said a police official.

Two persons, including a youngster, died on the spot after a sports bike hit a cyclist near Venkatrama theatre junction in the early hours on October 11, 2022. The 18-year-old youth, who was riding the bike, was not wearing a helmet. “Rash and negligent driving and not wearing a helmet led to the death of two people in the incident,” the official said and advised parents to think twice before purchasing costly high-powered sports bikes for youngsters.

Stating that violation of road safety rules was the main reason for road accidents, Warangal Police Commissioner A V Ranganath urged people to adhere to traffic rules strictly to be safe. “We are working in coordination with the Road Transport Authority and other departments to identify the black spots (accident prone areas) on the roads and check road accidents,” he added.

“Though the police are trying to enforce the rule of wearing helmets for motorcyclists since November 1, 2021, many people are not bothered to wear helmets,” lamented social activist Mohammad Azam, who urged parents not to give bikes to minors.

Though the police enforced the ‘no helmet, no petrol’ rule from August 15 in Warangal tri-cities, a majority of the people were not following the rule. The managements of petrol stations too were not interested in implementing the rule.