Drivers die young in Kerala

KOCHI: Around 81% of motor vehicle drivers who die on account of accidents in the state are persons under the age of 45 says the report of the transport research wing of the Union transport ministry for 2016. As per the data, most number of accidents in Kerala are caused by drivers in the age group of 25 to 45 with 965 drivers from the age group getting killed in road accidents, while only 322 drivers who are above 45 died in accidents in 2016.The rate of fatality among novice drivers in the age group of 18-25 undergoing accidents is also high with the 466 drivers from the group getting killed in accidents in 2016.
According to experts the reason for the spike in number of fatalities in the age group of 25-45 is due to rash driving.
“The younger drivers are over enthusiastic and often resort to speeding even when it is unnecessary. The drivers in this group also has the tendency to somehow keep moving forward violating rules like overtaking through the wrong side and red light jumping. By the time they cross forty, drivers tends to turn more mature," said Nazeer M A, assistant commissioner of police (Traffic), Kochi.
The ACP said lack of expertise in driving was hardly the reason for accidents. “The drivers who died under the age of 25 cannot be considered as persons with improper skills. They are however immature and lack traffic discipline. In fact the number of drivers who die of lack of knowledge in driving could very much be under one per cent," said Nazeer.
According to the report, 45% of the accident victims were two-wheeler riders and experts say that there is strong connection between these two statistics.
“Most bike riders who die in accidents are under the age of thirty. Those in their late teens and early twenties are most prone to accidents. The rash driving of high-end bikes is one of the main reasons for these accidents. These bikes cannot be called as superbikes per say as they have capacity less than 500 CC but rash driving of these vehicles causes the most number of accidents,“ said Bijoy Chandran, circle inspector (Traffic). “The youths these days have the tendency to ride crisscross and perform stunts on the roads. Other motorists could get involved in accidents because of they are distracted or try to keep away from these bikes," said Chandran.
These bike riders try to keep their number plates bend or tilted to skip auto detection. Police frequently take action against such bikes, the officer said.
P D Sunil Babu, special officer and traffic safety expert with Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA), said that training vehicle users alone can't curb accidents.
“Periodic training is provided to drivers at various training institutes. Such trainings largely become namesake as people tend to not give the importance it deserves,“ said Sunil Babu.