Date:30/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/30/stories/2008123059630400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

“Use GIS to analyse data on accidents”

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: In India, more lives are lost in road accidents than in natural calamities, K.Gunasekaran, Assistant Professor, Division of Transportation Engineering, Anna University, said here recently.

Speaking at the Road Safety Lecture Series organised by the Institution of Engineers, he suggested the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyse data on road accidents with a view to reducing its incidence.

With most First Information Reports (FIR) filed on road accidents offering little technical data for analysis, accident records should cover all aspects that contribute to accidents, such as condition of the vehicle and the road, Mr.Gunasekaran said.

He said though the Railways had allocated sufficient funds for its corporate safety plan, accidents continued to occur as proper analysis of accident data was not carried out while thinking of solutions. Between 1971 and 2007, fatalities in road accidents rose from 15,000 to over 1.14 lakh in India. These accidents led to an economic loss of Rs.55,000 crore besides the obvious loss of precious human life, he said. The rise in the population of motor vehicles was a major contributing factor, he said.

Accident clusters

GIS data for road accidents in Tamil Nadu had revealed that 25 per cent of road accidents were caused by government buses. When accidents occur frequently in certain regions, they appear as clusters in the accident map. The analysis of these accident clusters is useful, he said.

As for accidents in Chennai, he said several areas were identified as risky for pedestrians. “Kalaignar arch on Anna Salai in Saidapet, the crossings near Raj Bhavan, near Kamarajar Arangam and near the Indian Institute of Technology were among the several pedestrian-unfriendly zones.” He suggested that with more one-ways in the city, facilities for pedestrians should be created.

He added that improving road safety awareness among children and young adults was an important step towards preventing accidents.