1 in 3 people killed on Delhi roads were pedestrians, traffic police data shows

The data also shows that in 2021 nearly 36% of those injured on the city’s roads were pedestrians as well.

More than one in three people killed in road crashes in the Capital in 2021 were pedestrians, accounting for nearly 41% of the year’s total fatalities on the road, an analysis of data released by the Delhi Traffic Police in their annual Delhi Road Crash Report-2021 reveals.

TOPSHOT - A Delhi police barrier blocks a street during a Delhi state-wide weekend curfew imposed by the authorities to curb the spreading of the Covid-19 coronavirus in New Delhi on January 8, 2022. (Photo by Prakash SINGH / AFP) (AFP)

As per the data released on Friday, a total of 1,239 people were killed in road crashes in Delhi in 2021, while 4,273 people were injured. In 2012, these figures were 1,822 fatalities and 5,115 injured.

The data shows that in 2021 nearly 36% of those injured in the city’s roads were pedestrians.

People riding two-wheelers were the second-most vulnerable category of victims, constituting nearly 38% of the fatalities in road mishaps, the data shows.

“As pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are the most vulnerable road users, the focus will continue on the road safety measures for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists including prosecutions and awareness about usage of helmets, zebra crossings, hump subways, encroachment-free safe pedestrian walkways/footpaths. We have recommended design interventions at crash-prone locations to bring decline in fatalities,” said Surender Singh Yadav, special commissioner of police (traffic).

Shifting from the earlier position of referring to road mishaps as “accidents”, the Delhi Traffic Police for the first time referred to such incidents as “crashes”, with the reasoning that crashes are events that can be prevented, and are open to rational analysis and remedial action, while the word ‘accidents’ suggest that they are inevitable.

“Based on the current evidence that crashes are preventable and not by ‘accident’, we know through years of analysis that these crashes can be identified and prevented. It is a conscious effort into working towards preventing crashes and saving lives, which the Delhi Traffic Police have been doing through several years. The efforts of the Delhi Traffic Police have led to a total reduction in road crash deaths in Delhi by 34% over the last decade. Continuing our endeavour to save lives, we have now increased focus on more pedestrian centric traffic management,” said Delhi Police commissioner Sanjay Arora, who released the annual report.

Former IPS officer Qamar Ahmad, who has also served as Delhi Traffic Police chief, said, “Pedestrian and vehicular conflicts on roads are the prime reason behind deaths and injuries caused to pedestrians in Delhi. There are several spots across the city where pedestrians have to cross the roads in absence or proper arrangements. The solutions of this lie in the problem itself. The spots vulnerable for pedestrians should be identified and constructions of foot-over bridges, skywalks and sidewalks should be done to curb pedestrian-vehicle conflicts.”

According to the report, cars and taxis caused 176 fatal crashes, accounting for 15% of total fatal crashes -- the maximum number for a vehicle type. Heavy vehicles, meanwhile, caused 145 fatal crashes (12%).

A total of 561 fatal crashes occurred during the day, whereas 645 occurred during the night, despite fewer vehicles at night, the data showed. The number of fatal crashes occurring between 7 pm and 2 am on all days of week is higher as commercial vehicles are also allowed to ply on the roads during this period. An analysis of the data shows that the maximum number of fatal crashes takes place on Sundays and between 8 pm and 2 am.

The report also identifies 87 cluster points as crash-prone zones in Delhi, as per the criteria of three or more fatal crashes occurring within a diameter of 500 meters, or ten or more total crashes in the same region. The Outer Ring Road (18), Ring Road (14), GTK Road (8), Wazirabad Road (6) and NH-24 (5) have the maximum number of dangerous stretches.

As far as traffic violation challans are concerned, in 2021, a total of 1,323,556 on-the-spot challans were issued (178,634 compounded and 1,144,922 sent to court) and a further 6,569,985 notices (802,552 compounded and 4,171,650 to court) were issued and a compounding amount of ₹9,79,80,500 and ₹71,82,19,300 respectively, was realised.