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BIKE ACCIDENTS AMONG YOUNGSTERS OF KOTTAYAM TOWN

Anju Alphonsa Paul

B.Ed. student (Physical Science)

Mount Carmel College of Teacher Education for Women, Kottayam

Abstract

This article is based on a survey on the topic “Bike Accidents among Youngsters of
Kottayam Town”. The survey was conducted among 100 college students of Kottayam town.
Secondary data was also collected from East Police Station, Kottayam. This study reveals
that many accidents occurs when people vialate traffic rules.

Introduction

Transport plays an important role in the economic development of any region.


Economic growth that result in higher incomes and a rising living standards are expected to
create greater demands for travel for both work and non-work/leisure purposes. This is turn
can create congestion and reliability problems on the transport network, increasing costs on
business and damaging quality of life. As road transport provides door-to-door connection
and flexible movements of goods and passengers, its patronage by people are on the rise day
by day. The quality of life now greatly depends on the quality of roads.

We can define accident as an unplanned, unexpected, and undersigned (not


purposefully caused) event which occurs suddenly and causes (1) injury or loss, (2) a
decrease in value of the resources, or (3) an increase in liabilities. As a technical term
‘accident’ does not have clearly defined legal meaning. In insurance technology, an accident
is the events which is not deliberately caused, and which is not inevitable.

A road accident refers to any accident involving at least one road vehicle, occurring
on a road open to public circulation, and in which at least one person is injured or killed.
Intentional acts (murder, suicide) and natural disasters are excluded.
“Killed persons” are accident victims who die immediately or within thirty days
following the accident. “Injured persons” are accident victims having suffered trauma
requiring medical treatment (with or without hospitalization).

Bicycle accidents can result in serious and sometimes fatal injuries. Law suits to
recover damages for injuries in bicycle accidents with automobiles involve many of the same
issues as any auto accident lawsuit. Liability for bike accident injuries often comes down to
negligence- whether the car driver’s negligence caused the cyclist’s injuries, and whether any
negligence by the cyclist caused or contributed to the accident.

Cyclists and drivers are obligated to obey the rules of the road. These rules include
traffic laws, as well as the duty to exercise ordinary care in regards to one’s own safety and
that of others on the roadways. Like other vehicle accident lawsuits, bicycle accident lawsuits
are governed by state law, and often informed by state and local traffic laws.

Road accident is most unwanted things to happen to a road user, though they happen
quite often. The most unfortunate thing is that we don’t learn from our mistakes on road.
Most of the road users are quite well aware of the general rules and safety measures while
using roads but it is only the laxity on part of road users, which cause accidents and crashes.
Main cause of accidents and crashes are due to human errors. Some of the common behavior
of humans which results in accident are:-

1. Over Speeding
2. Drunken Driving
3. Distractions to Driver
4. Red light Jumping
5. Avoiding Safety Gears like seat belts and Helmets
6. Non-adherence to lane driving and overtaking in a wrong manner.
Various national and international researchers have found these as most common
behaviour of road drivers, which leads to accidents.
According to with alcohol report, road accidents are the leading cause of deaths
among youth between 15 and 29 years, the latest global report on road safety says. This group
constitutes over one-fourth of the total number of persons killed in fatal road crashes across
the world.
The global status report based on data from 180 countries in 2013 also highlights how
there is higher chance of people dying on roads in the low and middle income nations in
comparison to the high income countries.
However the report also mentions that 17 countries have changed laws to bring their
legislation on one or more of these five risk factors in line with best practises in the past three
years (2012-2013). This represents 409 million people or 5.7% of the world’s population. The
situation is most advanced on seat-belt laws, where 105 countries, representing 67% of the
world’s population, now have laws that meet best practice.
The global status report says that the road infrastructure across countries is mainly
constructed with the needs of motorists in mind, despite that the report indicates that 49% of
all road traffic deaths occur among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
According to the report, globally, nearly a quarter of all road traffic deaths are of
motorcyclists. This too is disproportionately distributed across the world, with the South-East
Asian Region and Western Pacific Region each accounting for 34% of the world’s
motorcyclist deaths compared to the African Region which account for 7%. “This reflects the
continuing situation whereby the use of motorcycles is much higher in Asian countries than
elsewhere,” the report states.
Need and importance of the study
Traffic accidents are a major cause of death and injuries worldwide, but while they
are declining in many parts of the developed world, fatalities are still on the rise in many
developing countries including in India. Kerala is one of the top states in the case of road
accidents. In our state more than half of the road accident victims are in the age group of 20-
55, the key wage earning and child raising age group. The loss of the main bread winner and
head of household due to death or disability can be catastrophic, leading to lower living
standards and poverty. This study is an attempt to highlight the root cause of road accidents
and its impact on the life of the victims and society. The study analyses requisite statistical
data to find out the root causes of accidents, financial impact on the family of the victims in
order to reduce the road accidents at its maximum.

Objectives of the Study


1) Determine the extent to which traffic rules are followed by youngsters of Kottayam town.
2) To identify the root causes of increasing bike accidents in Kerala, which is the major
reason for death among youth.
3) To find out the rate of death, injury and disability due to bike accident.
Methodology
Survey method was adopted for the study. Total of 100 students from both Baselius
College and CMS College, situated in Kottayam town were taken as the sample for the study.
Out of 100, 60 boys and 40 girls were the respondents. For the survey, a self prepared
questionnaire consisting of 38 questions were used to collect necessary data. Also secondary
data was collected s from East Police Station, Kottayam regarding the current status of bike
accidents in Kottayam district.

Secondary Data Collected from East Police Station, Kottayam


As a part of the survey based on the topic “Bike Accidents among Youngsters of
Kottayam town”, we have arranged an interview with the Sub- Inspector, U. Sreejith, East
Police Station, to collect the current data of bike accidents in Kottayam district. He revealed
that 569 peticases has been reported in the station last month. Among this, 250 cases were
registered for not using helmet while riding the bike. 5 cases were reported registered in the
station for over speed and 7 bike accidents were reported in Kottayam district in the last 30
days.
He pointed out that the places such as Nagambadam, Kanjikuzhy, Puthupally,
Manganam and Vijayapuram are the areas where many accidents have been reported in the
past. 53 cases where registered for drunken drive. He said that people are at least bothered
about their safetly while crossing the road.
As per his opinion, the first and most important step to reduce the number of road
accidents is to generate, a positive attitude among people towards the safety of ourselves and
that of others. People should change their perception on traffic rules and the police
department to promote safe ride.
Analysis and Interpretation

The survey was conducted among 100 college students. Among the 100 students, 57%
of them have two wheel licenses and 59% has insurance coverage, 37% of the students has
taken third party insurance and just 40% of them are renewing the license timely. A small
fraction of the students, i.e., 17% are least bothered about renewing the license on time. This
survey could reveal that 57% of people adhere to traffic rules but, 37% of them are not ready
to co-operate with traffic police, only 40% of the people are aware of safe driving. Among
the 55% those who attend the awareness classes for the same, 48% of the students strictly
follow the traffic signal from the total of 100.
Even though its mandatory to wear helmet while riding a bike, 54% of the students
are not using it. The survey shows that 64% of the students enjoy riding the two wheeler in
high speed and 57% of the student rode the bike with 3 people. Most of them are aware about
the law, drunken drive is an offense. But only, 15% of the students are adhering to this rule.
29% of the people use mobile phones while riding the bike.

In case of a traffic block, it was heard out that 17% of the students rode their bike on
footpath and 54% of them tend to overtake other vehicles frequently.

62% of the people are medically fit to ride a two wheeler and 52% of them are kind
enough to slow down or stop the bike when people waits to cross the road. The survey found
that 64% of the students like night drive and 40% of them like new generation bikes. If they
do not have new generation bikes, 52% of the people wish to modify their bikes according to
the latest trends. 37% of student used to check the proper functioning of the bike on a daily
base. 40% of the people claimed that accidents are being reported in their locality. 41% of the
people say that the bad condition of the road is the real cause for accidents. But, 20% of them
agree that the current condition of the road is good enough to ride a bike.

Even though there is controversies among the opinions of people, through the survey
we realized that a positive change in the attitude of the people along with necessary actions
from government can reduce the number of bike accidents among youngsters.

Findings and Conclusion

The finding of the study reveals that 17% of youngsters bothered about renewing the
license on time 57% of people adhere to traffic rules. 54% of students does not wear helmet
while riding a bike. Most of students enjoy riding two wheeler in high speed.

Bike accident among youngsters is now a usual incident in our society. Majority of
the lives are lost by accidents. We can see that there are so many reasons behind bike
accidents i.e, bad condition of roads, ignorance of traffic rules, careless riding, and riding
without helmet etc. This study evaluates the root causes of road accidents. It was found that
there is a relationship between age and road accident. The age of 17-30 is mainly involved in
bike accident.

Most of the road crashes are caused by human error. The main causes of death and
injury on roads are due to overspeed, drunken driving, and non-wearing of helmet. Because
bike accidents are product of several factors, the probability of accidents can be reduced in a
number of different ways. So we must build a kind of safety culture in our society by
spreading awareness regarding overspeed, drinking and driving, helmet and traffic
distractions, and through broadcasting and hosting programs and talk shows with experts to
speak on the issue of road safety. The danger on the road is a man-made crisis which can be
solved.

References

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_issue
 https://www.reference.com/world-view/definition-social-issues-d1c0b5c769501820#]
 http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/accident.html
 https://www.insee.fr/en/metadonnees/definition/c1116
 http://www.jhpolice.gov.in/road_safety/common-causes-of-road-accidents
 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/road-accidents-biggest-killer-of-youth-aged-
15-29-WHO-global-report/articlesshow/49451135.cms
 http://injury.findlaw.com/car-accidents/bicycle-accidents.html
 http://www.motorcycleaccident.org/6-tips-to-avoid-motorcycle-accidents/
 https://www.gov.uk/enhanced-rider-scheme/overview
 http://www.californiabiker.org/avoiding-motorcycle-accidents/

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