The last two New Year celebrations were lost in the gloom of the pandemic. This year, as Amdavadis get set to usher in the New Year amid festivities, one has to be careful of road mishaps. EMRI-108 data shows that road accidents register a sharp surge on December 31. The spike in Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) is much more pronounced in Ahmedabad than in the rest of Gujarat. In December 31, 2018, Ahmedabad recorded a rise of 8.62 percent in RTA compared to normal days. In 2019 it was 32.35 percent and in 2020 it was 36.73 percent compared to normal days.
The figures for Gujarat in 2018, 2019 and 2020 were 3.24 percent, 16.40 percent and 0.85 percent respectively compared to normal days.
Last year on December 31, Ahmedabad registered 14.06 percent rise in RTAs compared to minus 5.19 percent on normal days.
Experts blame the rise in accidents on the last day of the year to rash-driving and over-speeding for sheer fun and excitement.
