Bengaluru roads most unsafe

Bengaluru roads most unsafe
SANCHITA SEN
I DC BENGALURU


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After being dubbed the `Suicide Capital' of the country, Bengaluru has now been officially declared as the city that has the most unsafe roads in the country. It has the highest number of road accidents in the country, says a government report, `Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2008'.
The report, prepared with the latest available statis tics from the National Crime Records Bureau, shows that 7,773 accidents were reported in Beng- aluru in 2008. Experts say this is reflective of the sudden growth of the city which has roads that are not able to handle the volume of traffic it now generates. "The increasing densi- ty of traffic on the narrow roads in the city is one of the reasons why there are so m a n y accidents here," says Nimhans RMO V.L. Sateesh.
The city's pub culture and drunken driving are additional fac- tors, the doctor adds, noting that Nimhans receives about 10 cases of road acci- dents on an average every day. Experts say many buses have been introduced in the city, adding to the traffic congestion and caus- ing more mishaps.

"A lot of buses have been introduced on various routes, but they are still not being utilised as people pre- fer to use their own vehi- cles. This is causing traffic pile-ups and accidents," an expert says.