delhi

Updated: Nov 04, 2015 11:03 IST

Delhi Police constable Suresh Kumar, 40, had just started his routine round from his Ghaziabad residence towards east Delhi’s Anand Vihar bus terminal when a speeding truck hit his motorcycle on the night of October 30.

Kumar suffered 20 fractures, massive blood loss and a severe head injury. He died in a hospital a few hours later.

Till October 10 this year, 433 people like Kumar were killed because of rash and negligent driving on Delhi’s roads. Over 38,000 people were booked for rash and negligent driving this year.

In 2014, 675 people were killed by uncontrolled, speeding and careless drivers.

According to Delhi Police, rash and negligent driving is the biggest traffic offence in the city and the department is trying to do everything to tackle it.

Delhi, for the past three years, has been topping the list of registering the maximum number of road accident deaths among all the metro cities.

Police records show that trucks and commercial vehicles were the primary culprits, carelessly zooming around on the city roads in the early hours and often crushing smaller vehicles on the road.

“Rash and negligent driving is connected to other traffic violations. If you are driving carelessly, it automatically implies that you are speeding and this increasing the possibility of you jumping traffic signals and causing accidents. This careless attitude on the roads stems from the utter disregard people have for the life of others on the road,” said Muktesh Chander, special commissioner of police (traffic).

Susheel Saxena, 29, was travelling to Chandigarh from Delhi when his car was rammed by a 12-wheeler truck, killing him on the spot. Saxena was on his way to meet his wife who was eight months pregnant then and was at her parents’ house for delivery.

“My entire world came crashing down. I was immediately sent to Delhi, but I had no idea that an accident had happened. It was only after his body was brought home that I was informed about his death. His body had to be stitched together. That sight still haunts me,” said Surbhi, his wife. She currently lives with her two-year-old daughter in south Delhi’s East of Kailash.

Lack of strict punishment and laxity in enforcement of traffic rules has failed to check drivers who engage in hasty driving.

In March 2015, the Supreme Court had urged the lawmakers to consider a change of statute to have more stringent punishment where rash and negligent driving were the causes of death.

Currently, a rash and negligent driver even if he caused death on the road, is booked under Section 304(A) that provides for a maximum of two year sentence with fine.