The use of mobile phones while driving has claimed around 2,138 lives in 2016. Uttar Pradesh has topped the list with most number of deaths followed by Haryana. Maharashtra saw 172 deaths owing to the same reason while Delhi reported only two.
As per the report released by transport ministry, faulty speed-breakers, potholes, and under-construction roads take at least 26 lives every year. Such data has been released for the first time by the transport ministry.
Every hour, 17 people die in road accidents, stated report. The officials of the ministry also said that most of the accidents owing to the use of mobile phones by drivers or pedestrians go unreported. Road transport minister, Nitin Gadkari said people using phones for selfies while driving is “increasingly posing a greater risk to themselves and others as well”, reported TOI.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also said that the people using phones face four times higher risk of a crash.
According to Delhi police special commissioner (traffic), Ajay Kashyap messaging or taking selfies while driving or walking on the road is a big traffic threat. He also said that the exact reason of the accident go unreported as it gets hard to state the cause. “People are addicted to them,” he told TOI.
“Ill-designed speed-breakers have become a menace and more people are left injured for no fault of theirs. These are illegal. We will soon come out with a new design of speed-breakers,” Gadkari was quoted as saying by TOI.
