Police personnel inspect vehicles involved in a road accident that occurred on National Highway-29 near 7th Mile on midnight of June 12. Besides damages to vehicles, there were no injuries, According to a recent MoRTH report, nearly 40% of road accidents occurred in Nagaland between 6:00 pm to midnight in 2020. (Morung Photo)
Nearly 40% of total road accidents occur between 6 PM and 12 midnight
Morung Express News
Dimapur | June 13
National Highways (NHs) in Nagaland are accident hotspots, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total road accidents in the State, according to recent data released by the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH).
Despite the lockdown associated with the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, road accidents in Nagaland jumped by 39.7% in 2020, with 500 incidents, as against 358 in 2019, informed ‘Road Accidents in India – 2020’ published by the MoRTH’s Transport Research Wing (TRW).
Out of 500 road accidents in Nagaland, a total of 309 or 61.8% occurred on NHs, the report said.
In terms of injuries, at 168, NHs accounted for 58.74% of the total road accident injuries of 286 in 2020.
In addition, out of 53 fatalities reported in Nagaland due to road accidents, 22 or 42.30% were on NHs. Total fatalities in road accidents in 2020 increased by 103% over previous year when there were 26 fatalities.
All States/Union Territories other than Nagaland, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep, recorded lower fatalities in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, the report added.
According to the Nagaland Economic Survey 2021-22, the total length of NHs in the state is 1,507.88 km. Of this, 1095.56 km are under the Nagaland PWD (NH) and 412.12 km with NHIDCL.
Incidentally, all the road accidents on NHs in Nagaland occurred on those maintained by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) i.e. the 412.12 km stretch, the report indicated.
Accidents blackspots
As per the State-wise 10 top ten blackspots list, based on the number of accidents and fatalities for three years from 2016-18, all the spots were on NHs in Nagaland.
High priority has been accorded for identification and rectification of blackspots or accident prone spots on NHs, and concerted efforts towards improvement of road safety through engineering measures on National Highways have been made, the report noted.
The MoRTH has identified 5,803 blackspots on NHs based on accident and fatality data of the year 2015-2018 in 30 states/UTs. There were 17 such spots in Nagaland.
In Nagaland, out of the top-ten blackspots, 9 were under NH-29, with 6 under Kohima South PS and 2 under Sechü Zubza PS. The other blackspot was on NH-202 in Kiphire.
With the NH-29 Purana Bazaar-Chümoukedima stretch emerging as one of the biggest hotspots for accident in the recent past, there is possibility of the stretch making it to the top list in coming years.
For instance, in the 3-years data on blackspots listed by the report, only 175 were recorded on the 10 spots listed in Nagaland. Accordingly, as there were 309 road accidents on NHs in Nagaland in 2020, the possibility of maximum number of accidents occurring in the Purana Bazaar-Chümoukedima cannot be ruled out.
While the data pertained to whole of Dimapur, information provided by the Dimapur police in May to The Morung Express, during the first 3-months of 2022, a total of 219 accidents were recorded in Dimapur.
In terms of traffic violations, over-speeding was one of the major causes, responsible for 156 out of 500 accidents in 2020. Next was “Drunken Driving/Consumption of alcohol & drugs” at 107 cases, followed by “Driving on Wrong side” at 63. A total of 174 accidents were designated as “Others.”
‘Lethal’ hour
Meanwhile, as per the ‘Time of Occurrence’ of road accidents provided in the report, the period from 6-9 pm is the most ‘lethal’ hours, with 9 pm-12 midnight following closely.
Specifically, out of 500 road accidents in 2020, 102 occurred during 6-9 pm, while 92 occurred during 9 pm-12 midnight.
Accordingly, a total of 192 or nearly 40% of the road accidents occurred between 6 pm and 12 midnight.
The time of occurrence during the other times were: 6 to 9 am-50; 9 am to 12 noon - 46; 12 midnight to 3 am- 47; 3 to 6 am-65; and 3 to 6 pm-50.
In terms of accidents classified according to ‘type of impacting vehicles/objects,’ a total of 251 accidents involved cars, taxis, vans & Light Motor Vehicle (LMV), while 103 involved auto rickshaws; and 61 two wheelers.
A total of 47 accidents involved pedestrians, while there were 31 involving trucks/lorries and two were buses.
