Ludhiana roads remain deadly, 22 new black spots surface

Road Safety Assessment of Ludhiana report lists 77 blackspots in the city; 36 such spots were eliminated after remedial action in the last one year

City roads continue to remain deadly, with as many as 22 new traffic points that reported a high number of road accidents making their way onto the list of black spots, the Road Safety Assessment of Ludhiana report revealed.

Ludhiana roads continue to remain deadly, with as many as 22 new traffic points making their way onto the list of black spots. (HT File)

In a somewhat encouraging trend, however, 36 such spots were eliminated after remedial action in the last one year.

The sum total of it all has left the city with a total of 77 black spots, down from the 91 that dotted the municipal corporation roads, national and state highways falling under the city jurisdiction. The figure remains worrisome nonetheless.

The black spots, defined as 500-m stretches that witness either five crashes or over 10 deaths for three years straight, were identified after observing the number of road accidents over the same period.

The data was compiled and released in the first report published by the Centre for Excellence - Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Management, which was set up at the Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, and inaugurated on Saturday by additional director general of police (ADGP) AS Rai.

Speaking about the findings, traffic advisor and the centre’s director Navdeep K Asija said the total number of black spots coming down from 91 to 77 was a positive sign. He, however, was quick to add that more can be done in terms of enforcing road safety. Asija also revealed that 80% of the accidents were taking place on a 125-km stretch.

Sharing about the centre, he said that so that the traffic problems of Ludhiana can be sorted by the people living there, the initiative of establishing the centre was taken.

Killer spots (HT)

Up-and-down graph for fatalities

The report also collected data on accidents in the area falling under Ludhiana Commissionerate in the past three years. The findings showed an up-and-down trend of fatalities in road mishaps in recent years.

While the number of deaths dipped significantly between 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic-affected 2020, going down from 357 to 260, the figure rose to 377 in 2021. Over the next 12 months, fatalities witnessed a 5% decline — falling from to 357 in 2022.

Dehlon emerges as the hotspot

As per the report, the area falling under the Dehlon police station recorded as many as 142 road mishap fatalities between 2019-2021.

The same is not completely unsurprising as Dehlon Chowk features among the active black spots. The spot had witnessed three accidents on a single day on December 20 attributed by authorities to speeding and poor visibility.

Fourty-year-old teacher Jaspinder Kaur, was killed after being hit by a heavy vehicle near Tibba Chowk. A mother of two, Kaur suffered a severe injury on the right side of her forehead in the accident, which took place around 8.15 am. The deceased had put up a WhatsApp status cautioning her family and friends to drive carefully in the foggy season just a day prior.

Kammo, a 22-year-old second-year college student from Aasi Kalan, had lost her life after a speeding truck hit her scooter at Dehlon Chowk. The mishap also left her cousin injured. The life of an unidentified person, meanwhile, was snuffed out in the morning after he was run over by a truck.