India News | Himachal Pradesh: 'Roll Down' Accidents Claimed over 2,600 Lives in Five Years, Say Police

Shimla, Jul 5 (PTI) Over 2,600 people lost their lives in more than 3,000 "roll down" accidents in Himachal Pradesh in the past five years, the state police said on Tuesday.

The police statement came a day after a bus fell into a gorge in Sainj valley of Kullu, resulting in the death of 13 people and injuries to two.

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Police said the main reason for such accidents is the lack of crash barriers along the roads.

As many as 3,020 "roll down" accidents have taken place in the state, killing 2,633 people and causing injuries to 6,792, a press release issued by Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjay Kundu said.

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The statement said the total road length in the state is 38,035 km, whereas crash barriers have been installed at only 520 km of the road length.

The statement said the maximum 973 (32 per cent) such accidents occurred in Shimla, followed by 425 (14 per cent) in Mandi and 306 (10 per cent) in Chamba and Sirmaur each.

The maximum 869 (33 per cent) deaths took place in Shimla district, followed by 331 (13 per cent) in Mandi and 284 (11 per cent) in Chamba.

As many as 2,881 (95 per cent) “roll down” accidents took place in rural areas of the state, with 587 (20 per cent) taking place between 6 pm and 9 pm.

According to the data, 1,679 (56 per cent) accidents occurred on the link roads followed by 1,185 (39 per cent) on national and state highways.

Overspeeding in 1,264 (42 per cent) cases, dangerous driving in 641 (21 per cent) and turning without care in 609 (20 per cent) are the leading accident causes, it added.

In 1,530 (51 per cent) accidents, cars were involved followed by pickup vehicles in 592, it said, adding that 79 buses were involved in such mishaps.

"Details of black spots/clusters/stretches have been shared with the HPPWD authorities to install crash barriers. Also, a list of 10 vulnerable stretches in each district, which immediately require crash barriers, have been shared," it added.

The DGP has also directed officials to increase checking to reduce traffic violations.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)