Out of the nearly 15,000 road accident fatalities recorded in Maharashtra in 2022, a total of 7,700 were of two-wheeler riders with most of these deaths occurring due to head injuries from not wearing helmets, an official said.
The state transport commissioner published these numbers in a circular last week.According to an official, the state transportation department has instructed its personnel to undertake a statewide campaign to educate two-wheeler users on the significance of road safety and the laws pertaining to it.
As per the official statistics revealed earlier this year, a total of 14,883 people were killed in road accidents in the state in 2022, an increase of 2,095 compared to 12,788 fatalities recorded in the pre-COVID-19 year of 2019. In the circular, the transport commissioner pointed out that 51 per cent of the fatalities in road accidents in 2022 were of two-wheeler riders (7,700), adding that most of these incidents took place due to head injuries from not wearing helmets.
The circular also highlights that under section 199 (A) of MV Act there is provision of Rs 25,000 fine on parents of such minors. It also prevents issuance of licences to such minors till they turn 25. RTO officials have been told to counsel parents about this aspect, he added.Counselling must also be done to increase awareness about speed restrictions, carrying more than one pillion rider and compulsory wearing of helmets.
In 2022, the highest surge in road crashes was in Yavatmal (454), followed by Ahmednagar (256), Pimpri-Chinchwad city (249), Pune rural (213) and Palghar district (132), the official data said. The highest rise in fatalities was in Ahmednagar (135), followed by Buldhana (96), Chandrapur (75), Yawatmal (72) and Solapur district (69), while the highest increase in the number of injuries was in Nagpur (367), followed by Pune (295), Satara (272), Solapur (252) and Raigad (242), it added.