Representative image for road accident.
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Bengaluru: An overwhelming majority of those who died on Bengaluru's roads last year were men, particularly those in the student and early working age groups, data exclusively accessed by DH for 2021-2023 from the traffic department shows.
Traffic cops attributed the troubling statistic to riders not wearing helmets and speeding; an expert said with the city's population burgeoning and vehicles numbers exploding, such deaths would continue to mount.
Bengaluru city recorded a total of 883 fatal accidents and 913 deaths in 2023, a 17- 18% increase from 2022's 752 and 772, respectively. A majority of this total, 770 to be exact, were men, with over 50% of these deaths (393) being men aged between 21-40.
Within this, deaths among men aged 31-40 jumped by nearly 34%, from a total of 123 deaths in 2022 to 165 in 2023, including deaths caused by oneself, which the traffic police call “self-accidents”.
The most deaths recorded in a single age group last year was among men aged 21-30. Deaths rose to 228 in 2023, including 140 fatal accidents and 88 self-accidents, from 219 the previous year.
Additionally, fatalities among boys and men aged 11-20 jumped by 57.6%, from 26 in 2022 to 41 in 2023. This is not including self-accidents, which was 17 in both years.
An increase in the number of deaths in these age groups over the years is also indicative of the rise in ownership of personal vehicles, which are mostly two-wheelers.
Following pedestrians, two-wheeler users are one of the most vulnerable road-user groups. This also means that delivery personnel are at a greater risk for accidents, as they spend most of their time riding.
“A majority of these accidents are caused due to speeding and non-wearing of protective gear such as helmets and seat belts,” M N Anucheth, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) told DH, noting that a change in road user behaviour is necessary to bring these numbers down.
However, while these numbers might seem alarming without context, going by absolute numbers is not the best way to assess the situation.
“Fatalities are expected to rise as vehicle numbers and road user population increase,” said Dr Gautham Melur Sukumar, Additional Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Nimhans.
Dr Gautham also noted that road exposure is a risk factor for accidents. “As more roads are created and road length increases, more private vehicles get on the roads, thus increasing the risk of an accident. It is not necessary that fatalities fall as road density increases,” he said.
Besides police enforcement and public road safety education, factors such as proximity to emergency care and road design issues play a crucial role in influencing these numbers.