NCRB report: At 48%, Chandigarh saw biggest dip in road crashes

As per the report released by NCRB, 304 road crashes were reported in Chandigarh in 2019 while the number has gone down to 157 in 2020. Andaman and Nicobar stands second with a 38.7% decline while Sikkim is third with a 37.2% decline.

City Beautiful recorded a 48.4% decline in fatal and non-fatal accidents in 2020, as compared to the previous year, the Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India report, released by the National Crime Records Bureau, has revealed. This is the highest percentage dip among all states and UTs.

An overall 18.9% decline has been reported in the country while the overall decline in road crashes among states is 18.8% and among UTs, it is 21.6% (HT File)

As per the report, 304 accidents were reported in Chandigarh in 2019 while the number has gone down to 157 in 2020. Andaman and Nicobar stands second with a 38.7% decline while Sikkim is third with a 37.2% decline.

Due to the restrictions induced by the pandemic, the number of accidents has gone down throughout the country. An overall 18.9% decline has been reported in the country while the overall decline among states is 18.8% and among UTs, it is 21.6%.

While the pandemic played a major part in lowering the number of accidents, with both fatal and non-fatal significantly going down in April, May and June, senior superintendent of police (SSP, traffic) Manisha Choudhary said, “Apart from vehicular restrictions, continuous efforts towards enforcement, road safety awareness and road engineering interventions also helped bring down the number of accidents.”

Speeding was the main reason for these accidents and was found to be the cause behind 132 of the 157 total accidents. (HT Photo)

Member of the UT Road Safety Council, Harman Sidhu said, “In Chandigarh, people were perhaps taking the lockdown restrictions more seriously than in other places because there didn’t seem to be much difference in the approach adopted by authorities. Traffic police and authorities need to work on replicating this result for 2021 and the coming years now.”

Out of the total 157 accidents, most accidents were caused in October (18) followed by 17 each in January and February. Out of the total 157 accidents, 78 or almost 50% of them were caused between 6pm and midnight. Speeding was the main reason for these accidents and was found to be the cause behind 132 of the 157 total accidents.