Over 60 per cent of total natural deaths caused by road accidents

Srinagar: Traffic violations have increased in Jammu and Kashmir with every 40 seconds, a violator is being challaned in the state.
Official data of the Traffic Department reveals that 1,800 people are being fined daily in the state. It means that every 40 seconds, fine is being imposed on a traffic violator in the state.
Since Basant Rath took over IG Traffic, sources said there has been further increase in traffic challans.
The figures reveal that since 2010, the state has recorded 100 percent increase in traffic challans.
As per the official figures, the department issued 336360 challans though 94022 court challans and 242238 compound challans in 2011.
The number of traffic challans in 2016 reached to 662930 comprising 64610 court challans and 598320 compound challans.
The Traffic Department officials told KNS that the increase in number of challans implies that traffic department is collecting more revenue for the government. “The more the Traffic Department challans to traffic violators, the more revenue is being generated for the state. There have been strict instructions to the department to impose fine to everyone who violates the traffic rules. Thousands of vehicles have also been seized over the years,” an official of the Traffic department, said.
However, the official said that in some states it has been recommended that 50 percent of all fines collected should be devoted to road safety activities.
The official said that most of the road accidents do happen because of traffic violations. “It is responsibility of everyone to check whether traffic rules are being followed.”
According to the official figures of the Traffic Department, around 11,000 road accidents have been reported annually for the last two years in the state.
The actual number, according to police officials, could be much higher as many incidents go unreported.
“The number of road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir, which claim around one thousand lives per year, is double than the national average, based on population of the state,” an SP-rank traffic police officer told KNS.
“Over 60 per cent of the total natural deaths in the state have been caused by road accidents, while the national average is around 30 per cent,” he added.
A senior official said that the department wants that people should obey the traffic rules.
“Fine is only being imposed if somebody violates the traffic rules,” he said.
He said the department has been taking measures to make awareness about traffic rules in the state. “Special drives are being conducted to check traffic offenses, seminars are being organized to make people aware about traffic rules,” he added. (KNS)