Rising fatalities in road accidents in Ariyalur district causes concern to enforcement authorities

Ariyalur district witnessed a rise in fatalities caused by road accidents reported on various highway stretches and village roads in 2025 prompting the enforcement authorities to initiate remedial measures.

The Ariyalur district police, jointly with the National Highways Authority of India, State Highway, and Transport departments, have identified accident-prone spots on different roads.

Police sources said road accidents had claimed 211 lives in 205 fatal cases reported in 2025. The casualty figures in 2025 were higher than that for 2024 when 174 persons were killed causing concern to stakeholders involved in road safety.  Two-wheelers were involved in a majority of the accidents which claimed the lives of 156 persons in 2025. 

Nearly 70% of deaths in road accidents were either two-wheeler riders or those on the pillion. Most of the two-wheeler deaths were caused because of drinking and driving, overspeeding and negligence on the part of the riders, the sources said. 

Ariyalur district Superintendent of Police Vishwesh. B. Shastri told The Hindu on Thursday that 81 accident-prone spots had been identified all over the district by the police in association with the National Highways Authority of India, State Highways, and the Transport Department. These spots fall along both national and State highways passing through Ariyalur district besides village roads. The identified locations include Elakurichi, Poiyur, Managethi, Meensurutti, and Andimadam.

Apart from two-wheelers and light vehicles, Ariyalur witnesses heavy movement of lorries as the district has seven cement factories.  Certain short-term measures were being taken at the identified spots to curb accidents. The police have so far installed 80 out of the total 200 barricades at the black spot locations on different highway stretches to curb the speed of vehicles and reduce fatalities, Mr. Shastri said.

The remaining barricades would be put in place soon. The barricades have been pasted with reflective stickers to alert the vehicle users while travelling at night.  Provision of adequate lighting had been identified at six major hot spots among other measures. Reflective stickers had been pasted on culverts and road-side trees along village roads to alert the road users.

In view of heavy movement of lorries, the police had been sensitising drivers about safe driving practices during mass awareness campaigns aimed at them. Similar campaigns were being conducted for other road users since most of the accident victims last year were those proceeding on two-wheelers, the SP said. Recommendations were being made for road engineering wherever required.

As part of enforcement, the Ariyalur police booked 2,38,165 cases under Motor Vehicles Act in 2025 for committing various violations. Of these, a little over 4,300 cases pertained to drinking and driving. Driving licences of 614 persons had been temporarily cancelled by the Transport Department authorities last year for committing violations, including drinking and driving and overspeeding.