Odisha tops in deaths due to accidental falls from moving vehicles Bhubaneswar News – Times of India

Sometimes life can also be lost due to overloaded vehicles.

Bhubaneswar: The latest report on Accidental Deaths and Suicides (ADSI) in India compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveals that Odisha witnessed the highest number of deaths due to falls from moving vehicles in the country in 2020.
A total of 1167 people, including 158 women, died in the state last year due to accidental falls from running vehicles, which is the highest in the country, the ADSI report said. Maharashtra was at the second position with 1058 such deaths while Madhya Pradesh was at the third position with 397 deaths.
In 2019, only 69 people died after falling from moving vehicles in the state, placing Odisha at 13th position. The latest report has puzzled transport and road safety campaigners. A senior official attached to the road safety wing of the transport department said, “We never imagined that there would be such an alarming rise in deaths due to fall from vehicles. We will definitely investigate the reasons and address the issue.”
Experts said overcrowded vehicles, mostly buses, could be a possible reason for the rising number of accidental falls. Road safety campaigner Jayant Hota said, “Like on trains, many people often fall while boarding or deboarding buses. The government should launch a massive awareness campaign and take action against the operators of the vehicles.”
It is to be noted that road accident related deaths in the state have increased by almost 21% from 3,931 deaths in 2014 to 4,738 in 2020. This is despite the Supreme Court committee on road safety directing the state government to reduce it to 50% by 2020.
ADSI’s discovery has also placed Odisha on the top in terms of accidental fire deaths due to electrical short circuit. Last year, a total of 490 people died in accidental fires following an electrical short circuit in the state, with Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh taking the toll of 186 and 158, respectively. Odisha also topped the list in 2019 with 279 deaths due to electrical short circuit fires, the report said.