Sikkim registered a decline in road accidents by around 5.7 per cent in 2017.
However, the number of injuries increased by around 24 per cent as against 2016.
The number of deaths in road accidents in 2017 was 68 as against 85 deaths in 2016.
The cumulative accident data was released by the State Transport Department in Gangtok on Wednesday.
According to the date made available by the State transport Department, 198 accident cases were registered in the State in 2017 in which 68 lives were lost and 471 persons sustained injuries.
Meanwhile, the State Transport Department has initiated a number of policy measures and reforms in the process of vehicle registration and driving license issuance.
Sharing details of the initiatives with the media, Regional Transport Officer (East), Prem Vijay Basnett said that online registration of vehicles using ‘Vahan’ software and driving licenses under ‘Sarathi’ software are operational in the State.
Several innovations have also been initiated in the driving license issuance process with a view to curb road accidents as directed by the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling.
Now, a driving license applicant would have to undergo traffic class and produce its certificate, voter card and Aadhaar card while applying for a learner’s license, Basnett said.
A mandatory online test would also be held for issuance of driving license, he further added.
For commercial license of taxi drivers, the applicant would have to produce identification certificate or Sikkim Subject Certificate, the transport department official said.
During the press conference, the issue of driving license being used to avail government benefits was also flagged by the transport officials.