Delhi government to crack down on road safety violations

The move comes after a study on road safety risk factors found speeding to be a major reason for road accidents

In a bid to reduce the number of road accidents and resultant fatalities in the capital, the Delhi government is planning to rigorously enforce helmet use and adherence to speed limits on city roads and in high risk locations even during non-peak hours, besides a crackdown on overloaded commercial vehicles and lane violations.

HT recently reported that a Delhi government road safety report has identified 18 crash spots that reported more than 10 deaths between 2019 and 2021. (HT Photo)

The move comes after a Delhi government study on road safety risk factors -- conducted jointly by the Johns Hopkins University’s International Injury Prevention Unit and the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) -- found speeding to be a major reason for road accidents.

The findings were tabled before chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, who issued directions to the transport department to draw up timelines for blackspot rectifications, revision of speed limits in the city, roll out of road safety clubs, and installation of AI cameras at strategic locations. Officials said the chief minister will personally monitor the implementation of these timelines.

“The safety of Delhi’s citizens on the roads is a matter of utmost importance to us. We aim to reduce the number of road crashes and fatalities in Delhi and ensure the safety of all commuters, especially pedestrians and vulnerable road users. We will continue to work closely with all departments concerned and experts to make Delhi’s roads safer for everyone,” Kejriwal said.

HT recently reported that a Delhi government road safety report has identified 18 crash spots that reported more than 10 deaths between 2019 and 2021. They include Punjabi Bagh chowk (12 deaths), Majnu Ka Tila-Outer Ring Road stretch (16 deaths), Mukabra Chowk (19 deaths), near Signature Bridge (16 deaths), Azadpur Chowk (15 deaths), Nirankari Chowk (12 deaths), Burari Chowk (12 deaths), Seelampur Chowk (12 deaths), Ghazipur roundabout (10 deaths), and Shivaji Park Metro Station (10 deaths), among others.

In a meeting with transport minister and officials on Tuesday, Kejriwal discussed the revision of speed limits and stressed the need to focus on pedestrian safety. The government has also decided that 50% compounding fees collected on traffic offences will be diverted to a road safety fund to strengthen the government’s initiatives.

According to government data, 47% of accidents take place on national highways and state roads and speeding is one of the main reasons for accidents. “High-risk locations are often stretches passing through pedestrian heavy areas such as near schools, metro stations, and commercial spaces,” a government official said, asking not to be named.

Underlying the need to help road accident victims within the first hour of an accident, also knows as the Golden Hour, Kejriwal said his government had come up with “Farishtey Dilli Ke” scheme in 2019 under which people who help road accident victims are given a ₹2,000 financial reward. The scheme has so far helped provide critical treatment free of cost to 13,000 road accident victims in the past two years.

The CM directed the officers to conduct a study on the scheme to assess its impact on the basis of how many people were given treatment in a life-and-death situation and how many were treated for ordinary injuries, an official said.

The transport department also suggested some critical interventions to overcome the problem bus lane crowding.

Zero tolerance corridors

Under this, public works department will implement new bus lane markings and the traffic police will actively remove any and all parked vehicles from such lanes. Civic bodies will undertake encroachment removal from zero tolerance corridors in Lutyens’ Delhi, Outer and Inner Ring Roads.

The government will also redesign bus lanes on wider roads to give way to slow moving vehicles. Under this, a small lane will be marked on the extreme left of the road alongside footpaths. This will shift bus lanes by 1-2.5m towards the right, making traffic movement more easier, the above quoted official said.

Road improvement projects

The transport department said it has managed to significantly reduce snarls at 15 intersections by implementing interventions such as junction redesign, and speed calming measures.

“Nearly 70% of the conflict area has been reduced at Delhi Gate junction, there has been 33% reduction in pedestrian crossing distance, 35% reduction in straight going traffic distance and 33% reduction in the right turning traffic distance. The government reclaimed 2,500 sqm of refuge islands, medians and 2,000 sqm pedestrian crossings with no reduction in the number of traffic lanes,” an official said.

Integrated road accident database

The project was launched in March 2022 with the goal of having an integrated data framework on accidents. “It is basically a crash monitoring project. The first point of crash entry is made by traffic police and subsequent data entries by transport department, PWD and health trauma centres. This framework helps identify the reason behind accidents and accordingly frame interventions to reduce them,” said a second official, asking not to be named.

The CM directed officials to simplify the portal by reducing the required data points.

Safe school zones

These zones are being established in a community-government partnership. The education department has also established road safety clubs in government schools. The first such zone was established at DAV, Vasant Kunj. Speed calming measures, vehicular movement plans, and safe pedestrian crossings will be implemented to make streets student friendly. The government will now be scaling up the pilot to 100 such zones.