Fall in fatal accidents on Delhi roads

Friday, 09 July, 2010


Traffic officials attribute the sharp decrease in fatalities to an increased presence of officials manning traffic and the changing emphasis from prosecution to regulation. "The number of fatal accidents on Delhi roads, which was seeing an alarming upward trend in the last eight years, has been contained this year with a sharp shift in emphasis from prosecution to regulation. The presence of traffic personnel on roads has been increased," Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyendra Garg told Newsline.

While the number of fatal accidents till June 30 last year was 1,106, this number has come down by 13.48 per cent to 957 fatal accidents. The number of casualties has also come down by 12.67 per cent, from 1,137 last year to 993 this year. Of the total number of accidents, there were 471 cases of hit-and-run in 2009, a number which came down to 345 this year.

The number of pedestrian casualties in 2009 was 538, which has come down to 435 this year. There were 342 casualties involving scooter or motorcycle-borne victims in 2009; the number decreased to 325 this year. While boarding and deboarding buses, 20 people were killed last year; the number has come down to 12 this year.

The total number of fatal accidents caused by commercial vehicles in 2009 was 408; the number came down to 389 this year. The figures with the traffic police indicate that Blueline buses caused 54 fatal accidents in 2009; the number has come down to 43 this year. DTC buses were responsible for 29 fatal accidents in 2009; and the number has come down to 18 this year. There is, however, an increase in fatal accidents caused by Heavy Transport Vehicles, with the number increasing from 117 last year to 126 this year.

There has been a general fall in the number of fatal accidents between 4 am and 9 pm. "The peak hour accidents have been prevented due to an increased presence of traffic officials manning traffic on all the intersections, leading to better regulation," Garg said.

However, in the time period between 9 pm and midnight the number of fatal accidents rose from 220 last year to 224 this year. Similarly, from midnight till 4 am there were 156 accidents this year, while there were just 149 accidents last year. Traffic officials attribute this increase in accidents during night time to a reduced availability of manpower during these hours.

While the number of accidents on Ring Road fell to 93 from 114 last year, Outer Ring Road saw 54 this year compared to five more last year.

Of the five traffic ranges in Delhi, all except the Southern Range — where there was no change in figures — saw a fall in the number of accidents. "South is the range which is seeing a lot of construction activity in preparation for the Games. We are trying to contain this too. Mehrauli has been a problem stretch, and we are trying to reduce fatalities there," a senior traffic official said.

The traffic police issued 17.22 lakh challans last year, amounting to Rs 25.78 crore. The number of challans issued this year fell to 13.77 lakh, amounting to Rs 24.83 crore.

Original news source http://www.indianexpress.com/news/fall-in-fatal-accidents-on-delhi-roads/644116/0