Pinarayi faults UDF over mounting road crashes

Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday accused Keralam’s United Democratic Front government of undermining road safety enforcement, alleging that its earlier opposition to traffic surveillance had contributed to dangerous driving and avoidable deaths.

The former Chief Minister said measures introduced under the previous Left Democratic Front administration, including artificial intelligence cameras, restrictions on dangerous vehicle modifications and stricter inspections, were intended to protect lives. He alleged that UDF leaders had ridiculed those safeguards for political advantage and encouraged resistance to enforcement.

Vijayan’s criticism followed a series of serious incidents involving young drivers. He cited a fatal crash at Nedumbassery allegedly involving an intoxicated motorist, another at Cheranalloor involving a minor, and an episode at Thiruvalla in which residents reportedly intercepted a speeding car driven by an 18-year-old.

He said the Thiruvalla driver had allegedly travelled without the necessary licence or documents and struck several vehicles before being stopped. His account of the incidents formed part of a broader charge that reckless motorists were creating fear on public roads.

Vijayan accused the UDF of having encouraged opposition to automated cameras, including calls to cover the equipment, and of promising to remove enforcement measures if elected. These were political allegations rather than findings establishing that particular government decisions caused individual crashes.

He urged those responsible for weakening traffic discipline to correct their approach and demonstrate a genuine commitment to implementing the law. The opposition leader argued that public safety should not be sacrificed for electoral considerations.

His intervention coincided with judicial scrutiny of the state’s road safety arrangements and the enforcement of traffic regulations. The Keralam High Court has pressed the government to strengthen its response to speeding, dangerous driving and infrastructure deficiencies, questioning why existing safety standards have not prevented serious accidents.

During proceedings on Tuesday, a division bench comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and K V Jayakumar examined proposals for a statewide Integrated Road Safety Monitoring Platform. The proposed system would bring together information on accident-prone locations, road defects, enforcement and corrective action across responsible agencies.

The Motor Vehicles Department has also proposed a Driver Profile Mechanism combining information from the e-Challan, iRAD, VAHAN and SARATHI databases. It would help identify drivers with repeated violations, previous crashes, licence suspensions or other evidence of dangerous driving, allowing authorities to consider appropriate action.

The department informed the court that the Safe Keralam network comprised 726 electronic surveillance cameras, including 675 AI-enabled units. However, only four dedicated speed violation detection systems were available across the state, prompting judicial concern about the adequacy of enforcement against speeding.

The court directed the Transport Commissioner to identify areas with frequent crashes and speeding violations and provide locations and a timetable for additional detection equipment. The department also acknowledged that staffing constraints prevented its 85 enforcement squads from maintaining continuous coverage across major roads.

Official police figures provide a more complicated picture than the suggestion that annual fatalities have steadily increased. Keralam recorded 3,733 road deaths in 2025, compared with 3,880 in 2024 and 4,084 in 2023. The number of reported accidents nevertheless rose from 48,068 in 2023 to 49,889 in 2025.

Police statistics show 35,873 accidents and 2,702 deaths during the first eight months of 2026. Those figures do not establish the trend for the full year or demonstrate that the change of government caused an increase in fatalities. The available data therefore cannot independently substantiate the causal connection advanced by Vijayan.

The camera programme itself has faced financial and operational difficulties. Processing of automated traffic challans was suspended in September amid outstanding payments to the implementing agency, Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation, although officials said the cameras continued recording violations. The interruption raised questions about whether surveillance equipment was being translated into effective penalties.

The Motor Vehicles Department subsequently told the High Court that approximately 1.57 crore electronic challans had been issued through October 30, carrying fines totalling Rs 1,017.46 crore. It did not specify how much had actually been collected.

The court has also sought improvements in private bus scheduling, vehicle fitness inspections and coordination between agencies responsible for road maintenance. Authorities have been given three weeks to submit concrete proposals, with the road safety case scheduled for further consideration on November 30.