The doctors at the prestigious AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) in New Delhi have revealed that they get as many as 30 cases of road accidents at its Trauma Centre, daily.
‘On average, we get 30 cases at Trauma centre related to head injuries suffered due to road accidents. We have 60 beds in our department which are always occupied,’ said Deepak Gupta, Additional Professor of Neurosurgery at AIIMS.
He further elaborated that most of these accidents are result of rash and negligent driving. ‘If we take into account the cases from other hospitals as well, then the figure will be much higher. It is an alarming situation and calls urgent attention on the part of authorities’, Gupta said. According to official data from National Crime Record Bureau, more than 50,000 persons received injuries in 45,694 accidents that took place in the city till 15 June, 2014. The data further revealed that out of 16 lakh violators (challaned for violating traffic rules), as many as 4 lakh were penalised for jumping red light signals across Delhi whereas, 45,000 were challaned for over-speeding. More than 10,000 persons have been caught driving under the influence of alcohol.
‘People need to be made aware about road safety and need of wearing helmets, seat belts and not to use mobile phones while driving,’ said Prof BS Sharma, Head of Department of neurosurgery at AIIMS. He further said awareness among masses about road safety can help a lot in curbing such accidents.
‘The authorities should also adopt other such innovative methods to inculcate road sense into motorists as well as pedestrians’, he added.