Telangana rakes in Rs 235 crore in traffic fines, but accidents and deaths decline

In a year that witnessed the Kondagattu bus tragedy that killed 62 and injured 54 in Telangana, 2018 saw a 10% decrease in deaths due to road accidents in the state. Road accidents and injuries also saw a drop, according to the annual road safety data released by the Telangana Road Safety Authority (RSA). The data also shows that the traffic police collected Rs 235.59 in fines for various violations.

With 5985 lives lost, 2018 clocked the lowest fatalities when compared to 2017 and 2016. Accidents in general came down to 20,325 from last year’s figure of 22,484, decreasing by 3%. Injuries due to road accidents have also come down by 2% in 2018.

Though a declining trend in road accidents in the state was also observed in the 2016-17 road safety data, the state is still ranked as the 9th most accident-prone state in the country.

Bumper fine collection

This year the traffic departments have collected a whopping Rs 235.59 crore as fines as against the 190 crores collected in 2017. This is a 92% increase in the collection of compounding fee (pending fines) by traffic departments in the state.

The police collected Rs 56.3 crore just from two-wheeler owners for not wearing helmets, making it the most lucrative traffic violation for the traffic departments. Over speeding fines amounted to Rs 38.45 crore and drunken driving raked in Rs 7.2 crore.

Fines collected over wrong parking saw a significant jump, from just Rs 11.7 lakh collected in 2017 to Rs 14.4 crore this year. Fines on drivers using mobile phones while driving have risen to Rs 2.78 crore from Rs 59,913 collected in 2017. The fines collected for not wearing a seatbelt too has risen, from Rs 1.1 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore.

The number of cases booked under the MV Act has also risen by 32%. More than 93 lakh cases were booked this year, the highest when compared to the previous two years.

The data suggest that the major district roads in the state are more accident prone than state and national highways, accounting to 73% of road accidents in the state. The TRSA also listed out the steps that were taken to prevent another tragedy at the Kondagattu Ghat Road in Jagityal district. The government has opened a 7 KM road with a 24x7 Temporary Road Safety Control Room, height restriction barriers, cement concrete crash barriers, adequate lighting and speed breakers along the new stretch.