How Goa police is trying to cut down on deaths due to missing helmet, seat belt

Based on the findings, traffic police have now decided to take the help of local panchayats in a bid to reduce road accidents and bring about a “behavioural” change among the people in the state. They will focus on two priority areas – encouraging the use of helmets and seat belts and sensitising people about the perils of drunken driving and over-speeding.

Goa DGP Alok Kumar said, “It has been observed that in a lot of fatalities in road accidents, people have not been wearing a helmet. The analysis also shows that a majority of accidents took place on internal roads in the hinterlands and in rural areas or on roads leading to the national highways. So, we have decided to rope in panchayats and make them a partner in road safety awareness to bring about a behavioural change.”

“For a small state, Goa’s road fatalities are higher than the national average. I have set a target to reduce road fatalities by five per cent over the next year,” the DGP said.

According to data collated by the traffic police, as many as 290 people were killed and 1,178 were injured in road accidents in Goa in 2023. In 2022, 271 people died and 1,091 were injured, which was substantially higher than the 226 fatalities and 843 injured in 2021. In 2020, the number of fatalities was 223, while in 2019, the number was 297. Till June 30 this year, 165 people have died in road accidents in the state.

In the last year, data shows 137 deaths occurred due to victims not wearing a helmet, resulting in a fatal head injury, while 20 deaths were attributed to victims not wearing a seat-belt.

Two-wheelers were involved in a majority of fatalities (171), while cars, taxis and other light motor vehicles accounted for 21 deaths. Forty-four pedestrians were also killed in road accidents last year.

Out of 290 – 251 male and 39 female – fatalities last year, 69 were in the 45-60 age group, and another 69 in the 25-35 age group. In the 35-45 group, there were 48 deaths, 53 in the 18-25 category, and four minors were also among those who lost their lives in road accidents last year. Forty-three people above 60 also died in accidents.

As many as 214 fatalities occurred in rural areas, while 76 occurred in urban areas.

Rahul Gupta, SP Traffic, said, “Awareness and enforcement are both important. We are reaching out to school students and the adult population in rural areas and appealing them to follow traffic rules under our initiative Project TRUST (Traffic Rule Understanding and Safety Training). Enforcement is targeted to create a deterrence against behaviour leading to accidents.”