The maximum deaths due to use of mobile phones while driving were reported from UP, followed by Haryana. Delhi reported two deaths while Maharashtra registered 172 fatalities on this account. This was the first time that the road transport ministry collected such data from each state.
According to the report, 17 people died every hour in road accidents, which TOI had first reported on April 24. Officials admitted there is under-reporting of accidentscaused due to use of mobile phones by drivers and also by pedestrians.
“People using mobile phone and taking selfies while driving are increasingly posing a greater risk to themselves and others as well,” road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said.
According to the World Health Organisation, those using mobile phone while driving face four times higher risk of crash.
Delhi police special commissioner (traffic) Ajay Kashyap told TOI, “Texting or taking selfies while driving or walking on the road is a big traffic risk. People are addicted to them. There is under-reporting of such offences as it’s difficult to specify the cause.”
A survey by SaveLife Foundation earlier this year had found that nine out of 10 drivers felt using mobile phones while driving was unsafe, but 47% admitted to having received calls while behind the wheel.The report also mentions how 3,396 people died in accidents caused due to faulty speed-breakers, another 2,324 lost lives due to pothole-related accidents while 3,878 people died in accidents near or on roads under construction.
“Ill-designed speed-breakers have become a menace and more people are left injured for no fault of theirs. These are illegal. We will soon come out with a new design of speed-breakers,” Gadkari said. UP accounted for the most number of deaths in all three accounts. Maharashtra had the second highest number of pothole-related deaths (329) while Haryana had the second highest fatalities (214) due to faulty speed-breakers.(ToI)