MANOJ KUMAR JENA, OP
Bhubaneswar: Wrong-side driving accounted for 151 e-challans among 36,603 road-safety violations recorded across the state between August 10 and 13, according to daily data shared by the State Transport Authority (STA). While wrong-side driving formed a relatively small share of the total challans, road-safety experts said the lower number should not be interpreted as the offence being less prevalent or less dangerous. Despite the relatively low number of challans issued for wrong-side driving, it poses a serious threat to other road users and can result in fatal accidents, experts stressed. “I am a cyclist, and I have faced difficulties due to wrong-side drivers. The matter gets worse when a car appears from a wrong side.
In order to give a large vehicle space, most of the time two-wheelers had to compromise, which poses a risk to their lives,” said Piyush Rout, urban planner and cyclist. “I have terrible experience when it comes to wrong-side drivers. Mostly, in single-lane two-way roads, the drivers refrain from following any rules which results in accidents,” said Subrat Ojha, a biker. Road safety campaigner and member of Odisha Calling Foundation (OCF) Debabrata Nayak stressed the need for greater awareness about wrong-side driving. “A helmetless driver might get a challan without hurting others.
However, a wrong-side driver puts everyone on the road, including himself, in danger. We appeal before the government to conduct more awareness campaigns on wrong-side violations, as people take this offence lightly,” he said. The concern is also reflected in official accident data. According to data released in 2024 by the Commerce and Transport department, driving on the wrong side of the road led to 1,103 accidents and 470 fatalities. “The e-challans are issued in a routine manner and we have recently started the initiative to share the figures with the public. We are treating all the violations fairly, impartially and based on facts and rules. We urge people to follow the rules, and we are focused on reducing the cases,” said Dipti Ranjan Patra, Additional Commissioner, Road Safety.
Meanwhile, helmet-related violations accounted for the largest share of the challans during the four days, with 17,280 cases recorded in these days.
These included cases involving riders without helmets, both riders and pillions not wearing helmets, pillions not wearing helmets, and riders or pillions not wearing helmets as per standard. The data also shows that 906 challans were issued for triple riding on two-wheelers during the period. Over-speeding involving light motor vehicles and two-wheelers were another major category, with 4,799 challans recorded over the four days.
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