The total number of fatal accidents in the Nilgiris has increased by a whopping 51 per cent in 2023, as per records made available to The Hindu by the District Crime Records Bureau (DCRB). Activists say the increase could indicate that road widening along the district’s major highways is leading to more serious accidents and consequently, more fatalities among road users.
According to officials, both the number of fatal accidents as well as people who have died in the accidents witnessed a steep increase in 2023. While the number of fatal accidents increased from 40 in 2022 to 61 in 2023, the total number of fatalities rose a staggering 67 percent, from 45 persons in 2022 to 75 in 2023.
Police officials who spoke to The Hindu attributed the increase in deaths to the huge numbers of vehicles plying on the district’s major roads, increasing the risk of accidents and injuries. However, local activists point to the reduction in the number of non-fatal accidents, from 194 to 155 in 2023 as indicative of the fact that wider roads are leading to fewer accidents. However, the increase in speeds along the roads is actually leading to more deaths, working counterproductively to the exercise of widening the district’s major roads.
