Ernakulam district has 15% of the black spots in Kerala, what with 703 of the total 4,598 accident-prone spots located here, speakers said at a day-long workshop organised here by the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC), Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and National Safety Council (NSC) on ‘Accident-Free Kochi – Ensuring safe, inclusive mobility for a Sustainable Kochi’.
Speaking of road safety activities in Kerala, T. Elangovan, Executive Director of Kerala Road Safety Authority (KRSA), said the Accident-Free Kochi project would be a starting point to achieve a larger mission of “Accident Free Kerala.”
Samson Mathew, Director of NATPAC, said Ernakulam district recorded the highest number of accidents and fatalities in Kerala during the 2017–2021 time span, with 2,100 people dying and 28,500 getting injured. The fatalities per 100 crashes have been showing an increasing trend over the past five years in the district.
In their presentation, scientists of NATPAC Ebin Sam and Anish Kini said 18% of the crashes in Ernakulam city were reported near bus stops, in 2021. Around 25% of them were hits from the side/right angle collisions, followed by rear-end collisions (20%), hit-pedestrian collisions (19%) and head on collisions (10%).
Over 70% of crashes occurred away from intersections. About 68% of crashes occurred on roads having medians. Among intersections, 55% of the crashes occurred at T-intersections and 32% of them at four-arm intersections. An overall 60% of crashes occurred at uncontrolled intersections.
A total of 37% of crashes were reported within Kochi city police limits. They totalled 1,780 crashes, causing 141 fatalities and 1,758 injuries. Around 23% of the victims were pedestrians and cyclists. Around 61% were two-wheelers, followed by car/SUVs (21%), three-wheelers (5%), buses (4%) and lorries (3%), they said.
