Himachal: Most accidents in 2017-2022 occurred during evening rush hours, police urge caution

Shimla: The maximum number of road accidents reported in Himachal Pradesh during the 2017-2022 period occurred between 6 and 9 pm, data suggests, putting the figure at 22 per cent.

The high frequency of accidents at this time of day, when most officegoers return home from work, has prompted the police to tell commuters to "drive cautiously, your loved ones need you".

According to Himachal Pradesh Police data, 6,530 people were killed in 16,330 road accidents between 2017 and 2022. Of these, 3,590 accidents or 22 per cent occurred between 6 and 9 pm when officegoers return home, officials said.

The data also showed that 26,600 people were injured in these accidents.

"According to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways data released in 2021, road accidents and fatalities per lakh in Himachal Pradesh is 31.54 and 13.77 against the national average of 29.30 and 10.93, respectively. Our endeavour is to bring down the number of accidents and fatalities to below the national average," Director-General of Police Sanjay Kundu told PTI.

He added that about 52 per cent of the total fatalities in Himachal Pradesh during this period were in the 21-40 age group.

"Our advice to the officegoers is to drive cautiously and calmly while returning home," Kundu said.

The Himachal Pradesh Police is ensuring evidence and analysis-based predictive policing and correlation analysis and optimum resource utilisation to reduce the number of accidents.

Police forces are being deployed at vulnerable points during peak hours and they are also ensuring that traffic violators are slapped with fines, Kundu added.

According to the police data, head-on collisions, hitting pedestrians and run-off road accidents each accounted for 22 per cent of the accidents, Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Sandeep Dhawal said.

The police also attributed a maximum 48 per cent of accident cases to speeding, followed by 21 per cent to dangerous driving, 11 per cent to turning without caution, six per cent to overtaking and four per cent to intoxication, he added.

Around 1,80,000 new vehicles are registered annually in Himachal Pradesh. Till December 31, there were 21,07,178 registered vehicles in the state.

Himachal Pradesh has a road network of over 38,000 kilometres of which 81 per cent are village or other roads and 12 per cent are state highways and major district roads. National highways constitute only seven per cent of the total roads. However, 47 per cent of the accidents occurred on the national highways, the data showed.