With 777 of the 3,429 road accident deaths that were reported in Kerala in 2021 occurring between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., a bulk of them involving pedestrians and two-wheeler riders, road safety experts have called for heightened alert during the time span.
A whopping 7,350 of the total 33,296 accidents that were reported in the year too occurred during the vulnerable period of the day, when visibility is poor. The situation was much the same in 2020, when 645 of the 2,979 road accident deaths and 6,028 of the total 27,877 accidents were reported in these three hours. Fatalities during this span had peaked in 2018, at 901 of the total 4,303.
Other vulnerable spans
The 3 p.m.-6 p.m. span is the second most vulnerable part of the day, when 557 deaths and 6,464 accidents were reported in 2021. It peaked at 748 of the total 4,440 deaths, and 8,106 of the total 41,111 accidents, in 2019.
Road users — pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists — are prone to fatigue after a day’s work and are in a hurry to reach home, in these two time spans, a senior MVD official said. The span between 9 a.m. and 12 noon is the next most prone to accidents, with 451 of the total 3,429 casualties and 6,193 of the 33,296 accidents of 2021 reported during the period.
Rash driving
“Motorists, especially youth and online food delivery executives, are prone to rash driving during evening hours, despite inadequate street lights. They often jump signals and venture into the wrong side of the road during this time, in a hurry to earn cash incentives. That many of them drive while under the influence of alcohol and drugs makes matters worse,” the MVD official said.
C.J. Johnson, an expert in road safety, who has been pursuing with traffic-rule-enforcement agencies, the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety and others the need to create awareness on the need to improve visibility of pedestrians and two-wheeler riders, said better street lighting and pedestrians wearing fluorescent or bright coloured dresses would reduce the number of accidents after dusk.
Bright colours
“I have been writing to bicycle manufacturers also of the need to have yellow as the default colour of bicycles, to improve their visibility. Children must be taught at the school level of the need to wear bright dresses while venturing into public spaces. Their uniforms must be bright coloured. Studies have also proven that vehicles with black, dark, or dull paints had reduced visibility, making them more vulnerable to accidents. Similarly, containers must be painted using bright colours, to improve their visibility,” Mr. Johnson said.
