In the past 10 years, 40,000 people have died in road accidents in Kerala.
Kerala has been blacklisted for its dismal record on road safety. In the past 10 years, 40,000 people have died in road accidents.
Of the four districts marked as critical, Thiruvananthapuram tops the list, with nearly 500 people dying each year in the capital city alone. Last year, 999 accidents occurred on the National Highway that passes right through the state capital.
2013 witnessed a marginal dip in this shameful graph, a reduction of only 1050 deaths but something which required a lot of effort.
Kerala Transport Commissioner, Rishi Raj Singh says, "Kerala has a minimal percentage of the country area wise but contributes to 10 per cent of vehicles nationally."
The measures taken up by the motor vehicle department include installing 165 cameras to monitor traffic violations across NH 47, interceptors as well as a system of issuing challans on the spot.
In six months 10,000 people have had their licences taken away for dual offences of not carrying licence or talking on mobile, smoking and overspending while driving.
While it has been made compulsory for rear passengers in cars to wear seat belts, strict adherence to rules such as wearing helmets and seat belts have been enforced by the police with the help of automated mechanisms.
But concerns still loom large. An internal study by the Motor Vehicles Department shows that the majority of accidents happen during morning and evening peak hours, 85 per cent of which happen due to carelessness.
The NDTV camera also caught many violators - motorcyclists without helmets, drivers without seat belts and advertisements right on the roads in complete violation of Supreme Court's judgement.
Anil Kumar Pandala, Project Manager for Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company says, "Advertisements are banned on road. The Supreme court clearly stated in 2009, that for ever 10 sq feet of advertisement space, it should go three feet behind the compound, boundary wall. Despite authorities being aware, licenses are being given. Another dangerous trend is video advertisements."
As we spoke to many, apathy towards road safety on the part of drivers, pedestrians and officials came to the forefront along with a lack of autonomy for officials to function without hindrances.