Team Herald

MARGAO: With the Traffic Cells and police stations in South Goa going all out to educate motorists on the rules and regulations of the Motor Vehicles Act, traffic violations continue to soar in the district, along with a worrying frequency of fatal accidents. In all, 69 persons were killed in South Goa, from January, until October 9 this year.

In the wake of the fatal accident in July that killed four people, when they drove off the Zuari Bridge, the police had stepped up its campaigns against traffic rule violations, with special focus on driving under the influence of alcohol and driving in a rash and negligent manner. However, it seems to have had little effect, as the number of accidents reported continues to be high. Till October 9, over 200 persons were injured in 123 non-fatal accidents.

As per the figures available, the South Goa police registered 28,311 cases of violations of the Motor Vehicle Act. The cases also include offences like driving without fastening seat belts, not wearing helmets, going the wrong way in a no-entry road and driving without a licence, among others. Out of the 28,311 cases 5,287 cases were booked by the Collem police, 4,430 by Ponda police, 3,783 by the Canacona police, 3,854 by the Curchorem police, 2,467 by Cuncolim police, 1,674 by Margao police and 2,125 by the Sanguem police.

The main objective of these drives was to inculcate traffic discipline and better road sense among motorists, but this

the drive has not helped in reducing accidents, lamented a resident of Salcete,

Ulhas Kerker.