District roads are back at earning recognition for all the wrong reasons, with the annual Road Accidents and Traffic 2021 report revealing that as many as 649 lives were lost in a total 813 accidents registered in the district in the year 2021.
With these figures, Ludhiana has earned the dubious distinction of being the only district in Punjab to have reported more than 450 deaths in road accidents. Patiala was a distant second on the list, with 434 deaths. The mishaps in Ludhiana, meanwhile, also left an additional 240 were grievously injured
The figure was also a steep increase from the 2020 data, when a total of 499 deaths had been reported. In the year 2019, meanwhile, road accidents had claimed the lives of a total of 508 people as per the report.
Speeding and rash driving emerge as the main killers
Speeding and rash driving emerged as the major killers behind the increasing accidents, with driving on the wrong side also contributing to a significant number of deaths.
{{/usCountry}}Speeding and rash driving emerged as the major killers behind the increasing accidents, with driving on the wrong side also contributing to a significant number of deaths.
{{/usCountry}}In a case falling under the first category, a tragic mishap had snuffed out the life of five persons — including three toddlers in September this year after their speeding car hit an electric pole near Veer Palace on Chandigarh road. Police said the car was being driven at a speed of 120 km per hour.
A 32-year-old bike-borne man had also been crushed under a speeding tractor near Ayali Chowk in December last year. The pillion rider, meanwhile, had been left seriously injured.
Traffic experts have attributed the increase in accident deaths to poor planning and failure to undertake precautionary measures, all in view of the increasing population and traffic in the city.
Kamaljit Soi, a member of the National Road Safety Council, said, “It is no surprise that Ludhiana has once again come among the cities with the highest fatalities due to road accidents, the roads are in pathetic condition and rules are not being properly implemented.”
Month-wise data shows that the highest number of accidental deaths — 64 were reported in December, followed by February, August and September, with 62 deaths in each month.
Out of a total of 813 cases of road accidents registered in Ludhiana, 210 were under the code of criminal procedure (CrPC) 174 and accounted for 212 deaths. FIRs under various sections of the Indian Penal Code were registered in 603 cases, which claimed 437 lives and left 240 grievously injured.
91 of Punjab’s 377 first-phase black spots in Ludhiana
In another telling finding, 91 of the total of 253 first-phase black spots — a place where road traffic accidents have historically been concentrated — identified in Punjab were in areas falling under the jurisdiction of Ludhiana Police Commissionerate. A total of 27 and 13 second-phase black spots fall under the jurisdiction of Khanna and Ludhiana Rural police respectively.
Speaking of the same, Kamaljit Soi, a member of the National Road Safety Council. “It is a matter of shame for authorities that after years of identifying the black spots, their number has not decreased.”
Fog factor: Speeding heavy vehicles crush three to death
A sharp drop in visibility driven by fog and speeding heavy vehicles combined resulted in three major accidents on Tuesday — claiming the lives of a government school teacher, a college student and an identified person. The accidents took place in just a three-km stretch between Dehlon chowk to Tibba chowk.
The 40-year teacher, identified as 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 foggy season just a day prior.
The second-year college student, Kammo, 22, of Aasi Kalan, died 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.
FIRs have been registered against the unidentified drivers in all three cases.
Additional deputy commissioner of police (operations and special branch) Sameer Verma, in wake of the mishaps asked people to follow traffic precautions. He added that police are taking action against vehicles flouting the speed limit.