INDORE: The body count on Madhya Pradesh's roads is rising alarmingly. There were 3,420 more accident deaths on national highways in the state in 2022 than in 2019, and MP's share of accidents in the country has risen to 9.1%.
In 2019, MP's share of NH accidents was 7.4%, says the Road Accidents-2022 report released recently by the ministry of road transport and highways. The Centre's report says that 13,427 people were killed in road accidents in MP last year, including 4025 on national highways.
The state's share of road fatalities rose last year to 8% from around 7.1%. And, in case of deaths on national highways, the state's share rose to 6.6% last year from 5% in 2019, the ministry's report stated.
Need of stricter enforcement but not enough manpower: ADG
Over-speeding is the major reason behind the rise in accidents and fatalities on national highways in the state. The number of vehicles have also increased, increasing the chances of accidents," ADG, Police Training and Research Institute (PTRI), Bhopal, G Janardan told TOI.
"There is a need for stricter enforcement of safety measures on roads but due to lack of manpower (police personnel) the issue persists. We have demanded dedicated staff for highway policing in the state," ADG Janardan added.
The report says that MP reported 54,432 accidents last year, which was 11.8% of all accidents in the country. As many as 12,183 of these led to fatalities. There is, however, a silver lining for the state in the report. Despite the very high number of accidents, 'severity' - number of persons killed per 100 accidents -- is lower than the national average. TNN
