Hyderabad: The recent fracas between the Union government and truck drivers' association over the reincarnated Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) 2023 has been in the thick of things. Irate truck drivers not in consonance with the 'stringent' punishment in hit-and-run cases, took to the streets throwing normal life out of gear.
The government's decision to impose Rs 7 lakh as fine and jail term of up to 10 years, has incurred the wrath of truck drivers who find the new rules harsh and unfair. They went on a stir, choking normal life, triggering a panic buying of fuel in almost all major cities as the tanker drivers too joined the stir, bringing the entire country's fuel supply to a grinding halt.
It worked. The truckers brought the government to its knees and an official announcement from the government of deferring the implementation was made. The government said the implementation of the new rules will be put on hold until all stakeholders are consulted.
In this context, it is pertinent to look back at the number of hit-and-run accidents in recent times as per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.
Over 50 thousand deaths in 2022-According to the NCRB data, there were 47,806 incidents of hit-and-runs in the country that killed 50,815 people in 2022. This implies that almost six people died in hit-and-run cases every hour with 140 succumbing everyday. In 2021, there were 47,530 hit-and-run incidents which caused the demise of 43,499 people.
Share of hit & run in National Highways-As per data from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways(MoRTH), the share of such cases in road accidents and deaths was 14.6% and 18.1% in 2022 and 16.8% and 11.8% in 2021. This means most of the hit-and-run cases were reported in the State Highways, and other district and village roads which are maintained by the local bodies.
Getting in a fluster over hit & run-If at all you are, then these facts are pertinent. According to the data, hit-and-run cases are worrying as they sit second in terms of the number of fatalities they account for. There are other significant categories that add more numbers to the accidents which include head-on collisions, hit from back or from side, among the nine classifications of road accident patterns. As for the number of accidents, it is ranked fifth overall by the report.
Now, drivers going astray while on the wheels are an aberration on roads. Speeding is a factor and the figures justify - 72% of the accidents and 71% deaths due to road accidents in 2022 were attributed to over speeding, the MoRTH data read.