NGO Donates 400 Helmets to Vizag Home Guards; Police Chief Urges Safety

While speaking to ANI, Commissioner Bagchi said, "Every year, we find around 11,90,000 people dying from road traffic accidents in the world. In India, around 2,50,000 people die every year due to road traffic accidents."

He stated that nearly 45 per cent of road accidents involve two-wheelers, with head injury being the leading cause of death.

"If the riders wear an ISI-marked helmet properly, the chance of head injury can be reduced by 88 per cent," he added.

"Today, the NGO Aap Sabki Awaz has come forward to donate 400 helmets to 400 home guards of Vizag City Police. We deeply appreciate this initiative and express our heartfelt gratitude to the NGO," the Commissioner said.

"Be safe, rise safely and wear a helmet - that is the message that Aap Sabki Awaz wants to spread across the entire society," he added.

According to the official data from the Transport Department, Andhra Pradesh reported 15,279 road accidents in October 2024, resulting in 6,796 deaths and 16,707 injuries. The figures mark a decline compared to October 2023, with accidents down 17.6 per cent, deaths down 14.8 per cent, and injuries down 17 per cent.

As of October 2024, among the districts, Tirupati recorded the highest number of road accident fatalities, with 444 deaths reported during the year.

Nellore reported the second-highest number of fatalities, with 380 deaths. Vijayawada registered 362 road accident deaths, placing it third among the districts in terms of fatalities.

Guntur recorded 352 deaths resulting from road accidents during the year.

Prakasam reported 336 fatalities due to road accidents, making it the fifth of the districts with the highest number of accident-related deaths in the State.

According to the Union Transport Ministry, a total of 480,583 road accidents were reported by the States and Union Territories (UTs) during the calendar year 2023. These accidents claimed 172,890 lives and caused injuries to 462,825 persons. Compared to 2022, the number of road accidents increased by 4.2%, while fatalities and injuries rose by 2.6% and 4.4%, respectively. On average, this translates to 1,317 accidents and 474 deaths every day, or approximately 55 accidents and 20 deaths every hour across the country.

Among the States, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents in 2023, with 67,213 cases (14% of the total), followed by Madhya Pradesh with 55,327 accidents (11.5%). In terms of fatalities, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of deaths due to road accidents, accounting for 23,652 fatalities (13.7%), followed by Tamil Nadu with 18,347 deaths (10.6%).

In 2020, the country witnessed an unprecedented decline in both road accidents and fatalities, primarily due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the stringent nationwide lockdown imposed during March-April 2020.

- ANI