Dehradun: In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a horrific road accident occurred in Dehradun, claiming six lives and critically injuring one when their car collided with a container truck crossing the road. Initial reports suggest that the car was overspeeding at the time of the collision.
In Uttarakhand, the dangerous thrill of speeding is proving fatal. Overspeeding is responsible for 78 percent of the road accidents in the state. In the past nine months alone, 643 people have lost their lives in 1,114 accidents caused by overspeeding in Uttarakhand.
Innova car of deceased ones was racing with a luxury car
In the preliminary investigation, this has come to the fore that the Innova car of these seven youths was racing with a luxury car when this accident took place. According to a police official, “Such was the impact of the collision that the roof of Innova car was ripped off and decapitated two passengers. CCTV footage and statements of passersby suggest that the vehicle rode by these youths was over 120 kmph.” He added, “This also came to the fore that they were racing with a luxury car and collided with a container truck at ONGC intersection.”
Over speeding killed six students aged between 19-24 years
In this unfortunate incident, six college students, aged between 19-24, lost their lives and one is battling for his life. However, the police and traffic system seem helpless in implementation of traffic rules. Instead of implementing effective measures to prevent accidents, the police and transport department are mainly focused on issuing challans. The silent slogans on the roads play a greater role in ensuring that the speed control standards set by the Government of India are followed on the Dehradun district’s 434 km of roads.
770 deaths in 1,311 accidents from January to September this year
From January to September 2024, there were 1,311 accidents resulting in 770 deaths and 1,145 injuries. Out of these, 1,114 accidents were due to over speeding, causing 643 deaths and 954 injuries. In 2023, there were 1,220 accidents, with 750 deaths attributed to over speeding. Similarly, in 2022, there were 1,219 accidents, also resulting in 750 deaths from over speeding. These figures highlight that 78 percent of the deaths are due to over speeding.
The CCTV camera at the ONGC intersection is not functioning
The situation remains unresolved following the cyber-attack on the Uttarakhand government’s data center in October. Smart City has installed CCTV cameras at 49 intersections and squares in the city, but only 34 are currently operational. The cyber-attack has disrupted the Smart City app, preventing updates from the cameras. As a result, the traffic police are unable to determine which CCTV cameras are out of order. The CCTV camera at the ONGC intersection, where the accident occurred late Monday night, is also not functioning. This has hindered the police from obtaining clear information about the cause of the accident.
Over speeding can be seen on crowded roads of Dehradun
Speeding is a common sight on Dehradun’s crowded roads, especially on Rajpur Road, GMS Road, Haridwar Bypass, Premnagar, Raipur Road, and Sahastradhara Road. Speed control measures are lacking on routes such as Mohkampur to Rishikesh, Rajpur Road, Mussoorie Road, Kalsi Road, Chakrata Road, Sahastradhara Road, and Raipur-Thano Road.
Issuing overspeeding challans seems to be just a formality
In 2024, the police issued 19,957 challans for overspeeding. However, given the prevalent speeding on roads, this seems insufficient. To effectively control overspeeding, the police need to take more stringent actions. Currently, the easiest targets for challans are those violating no-parking rules, not wearing helmets, or carrying three passengers on a two-wheeler. At night, there is little police action against those who risk their own and others’ lives by speeding.
