Mysuru: Mysuru city recorded 10% fewer road accidents in 2025, but the number of deaths rose, with 181 vehicle users and pedestrians killed between Jan and Dec.Police said two-wheeler riders accounted for a large share of the victims. Their study revealed that many riders and pillion passengers either did not wear helmets or wore them incorrectly, leaving them vulnerable to fatal head injuries even in low-speed crashes.During the year, city police booked 33 lakh vehicle users for various violations, including speeding, helmetless riding, triple riding, and wrong-side driving. In 2024, about 1130 road accidents had happened in which 172 had died. Assistant commissioner of police (traffic) M Shivashankar said the major cause of death among bike and scooter users was riding without a helmet. Recalling two incidents that happened in Dec, the ACP said a man in his 40s lost his life in a minor incident on Shankar Mutt Road.The scooterist suffered a head injury after he fell from the moving vehicle. He lost balance after his vehicle clipped the auto’s rear wheel guard. There was not a single scratch on his body, but he suffered internal head injuries and died.In another incident, two teenage boys, children of daily-wage earners, died after their bike’s footrest hit a median on Hunsur Road in VV Puram traffic limits.Shivashankar claimed more than 100 who died in road accidents were two-wheeler users, and the majority of them died due to head injuries. Despite awareness efforts, riders continued to ignore warnings and ended up losing their lives. About 51 pedestrians also died during the year, the officer stated.Transport minister Ramalinga Reddy recently told the House of Legislative Council, while replying to a query, that about 9,302 died in road accidents and about 44,325 were injured in Karnataka between Jan and Oct 2025. About 35,447 accidents were reported in the state during the 10-month period.Awareness campaigns conductedThe minister said the Karnataka State Road Safety Authority conducted awareness campaigns to educate the public about road safety and the negative effects of speeding. The public were educated about road safety aspects on social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.To raise public awareness about the importance of wearing helmets and the dangers of speeding, a National Road Safety Month/Week was organised every Jan, the minister stated.RTO (west) Mysuru Vasanth C informed TOI that Jan is observed as road safety awareness month, and efforts are made to educate road users through various awareness programmes, including wearing a helmet.
