Guntur: Youth victims of road mishaps

GUNTUR: Highways are a death trap with minors and youngsters caught in ghastly road accidents. The police department found youth under 25 years were the main victims of the majority road accidents. They  drive bikes and cars without proper driving training and licenses and die on the roads due to road accidents. The Guntur police recently conducted a special drive against unlicensed drivers mainly to curb minors and decided to continue special drive till July 30.

There are four national highways and 41 state highways in the Guntur rural police limits on which 1368 road accidents were registered last year and 696 people killed and 1547 injured in those road accidents. Rash driving, snake driving, racing and wheelies oftrn results in instant death on highways, Guntur rural police department found high incidence of road accidents in Palnadu region of Vinukonda, Piduguralla and adjacent areas and Tenali and adjacent areas.

The Guntur urban police already started special drive against minors in the Guntur city and urban areas and conducting counselling for the parents at their house by issuing notices. As many as 504 accidents registered on the State Highways (SH) and 197 on the National Highway (NH) and 667 accidents on other roads in the rural limits in the year 2016 in which 587 accidents were fatal and 781 were non-fatal.

Similarly, 266 accidents registered on SH, 144 accidents on NH and 320 accidents on the other roads fromJanuary to June this year killing 337 people and injuring 899 persons and 313 were fatal and 417 were non-fatal accidents. Parents N. Omkar and others said that their children mainly minor boys are adamant and demanding bikes to take jolly rides. They said that they are becoming adamant and non-cooperative if they refuse to give their vehicles so majority parents unwillingly give them vehicles.

They welcomed police special drive and hoped this would change the attitude of minor boys and youngsters. Guntur rural SP  Venkata Appala Naidu said that 758 minors were caught by police during special drive on July 11 in Guntur district in 90 minutes. He said that similarly, 1,541 minors and violators were found during two hours of special drive on Thursday in the Guntur rural police limits. He said  cases would be registered against both from August 1 and appealed to parents to cooperate with the police to save lives of minor boys and youngsters.