Speed, recklessness, and lost futures

Srinagar, Nov 14: The loss of precious lives in accidents is daily news in J&K, with the region’s roads having become deadly traps, killing hundreds of people every year.

The latest official data reveals a grim picture: 893 people lost their lives and 8469 were injured in 6298 road accidents in J&K last year.

This year, till September, 4457 accidents took place, resulting in 621 deaths and 6122 injuries.

The toll mounts every day.

Jammu division bears the major toll of accidents: this year, districts Jammu and Udhampur together recorded 1139 accidents till September 2024, amounting to 25 percent of all accidents in J&K.

These resulted in the deaths of 120 individuals and injuries to 994 people.

In Kashmir division, Srinagar, Anantnag, and Kulgam had the highest number of accidents and casualties and injuries resulting from accidents this year.

In J&K, districts like Jammu, Kathua, Reasi, Udhampur, and Kulgam top the list of fatal accidents.

A 2017 report found that for people dying at ages between 15-39 years, accidents were the cause for over 20 percent in J&K.

Medical practitioners in J&K have voiced their concern over the impact of the accidents on the productivity of the young generation.

A senior professor at a surgical department of GMC Srinagar said that his departmental resources as well as the ICUs of the hospital were overwhelmed with the number of injured, often gravely, received from the crash sites across Kashmir.

“Most of these people require a long hospital stay and are never able to regain the level of physical ability they had before the accidents,” he said.

He said that hospitals need to have separate accident and emergency departments to cater to this load of patients.

“The discussions have been going on over this for a long time,” he said.

The Traffic Police believes that the major reason for these accidents is over-speeding, followed by lane indiscipline and non-compliance with safety measures like seat belts and helmets.

SSP Traffic Rural Kashmir Ravinder Pal Singh attributes the high accident rate to the nature of roads, which are not feasible for the speeds at which people drive.

“We have hilly roads, narrow roads, blind curves, and major traffic in lanes and bylanes. Speed limit adherence is missing on highways and elsewhere,” he says. “Many young ones drive bikes to get a thrill, not for transport.”

This reckless behaviour has devastating consequences, especially among young people.

“Pedestrians are among the most vulnerable groups in J&K’s road accident toll, accounting for more than 50 percent of fatalities – significantly higher than the national average of 20 percent,” SSP Traffic Srinagar Muzaffar Ahmed Shah said.

He said that inadequate pedestrian infrastructure like footpaths and safe crossings, forces people to walk on busy roads.

“We need to examine why pedestrians face such high risks and whether road design and intersections are contributing to this issue,” Shah said. “Lack of public awareness around road signs and poor driving education exacerbate the problem, and enforcement through fines alone has proven inadequate.”

He said that the vehicular load in Srinagar had multiplied, with lakhs of vehicles now crowding roads that have remained largely unchanged in length and width.

“The resulting congestion adds further risk to road users,” Shah said.

He stressed the need to change habits and driving behaviour – essential to reducing road accidents, in addition to government investments in infrastructure and awareness programmes aimed at fostering safer road practices.