Pedestrian deaths account for 37% of road accident fatalities in Coimbatore

Roads in Coimbatore city appear to be less friendly for pedestrians as data accessed from the police under the Right to Information (RTI) Act showed that pedestrians accounted for 37% of road traffic accident fatalities reported in the first 10 months this year.

Of the 232 persons who lost their lives in road traffic accidents in the city from January to October, 86 were pedestrians. A total of 971 accidents (fatal and non-fatal) were reported in the city during this period and 280 of them (28.83%) were involving pedestrians.

“Pedestrian deaths account for more than 20% of total road fatalities nationwide. But this figure is 37% in Coimbatore, a clear indicator of lack of facilities for the safety of pedestrians in the city. The alarming percentage of pedestrian fatalities in Coimbatore shows sheer negligence by authorities, including the Highways Department,” said K. Kathirmathiyon of Coimbatore Consumer Cause, who accessed the data from Coimbatore City Police under RTI Act.

As per the RTI reply, even though pelican signals are useful for the public to cross roads, subways or foot overbridges were necessary.

The police stated that subways or foot overbridges were necessary at Anna Statue, Lakshmi Mills junction, RK Mill junction, Fun Mall junction, airport junction, Chinniyampalayam, Gandhipuram junction, No:3 bus stop, Ukkadam, Chinthamani junction, Kavundampalayam junction, Thudiyalur junction, Singanallur junction and Ramanathapuram junction.

“The RTI reply by the police clearly states the need for safe pedestrian crossings at these places. Though there was allocation of ₹15 crore for five subways or foot over bridges for Avinashi Road flyover in the original plan, it was not executed. Similarly, ₹5 crore allocation for a subway at Gandhipuram junction for the flyover was also not utilised. Authorities are not bothered about pedestrian safety since they barely cross these roads by foot,” said Mr. Kathirmathiyon.

Officers attached to Coimbatore City Police said that they were forced to deploy personnel at busy locations, where people tend to cross the road in large numbers, due to the absence of subways or foot overbridges.

Mr. Kathirmathiyon, who is also a member of the District Road Safety Committee, had highlighted lack of facilities for pedestrians in the city in a submission given to the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety recently.