50% mishaps happen at nights, early mornings

Steep prosecutions and optimum utilisation of the 10 speed interceptors on city's accident-prone corridors seem to be curbing fatal accidents only during the day time as motorists continue to flirt with danger during night and early morning hours.

Steep prosecutions and optimum utilisation of the 10 speed interceptors on city's accident-prone corridors seem to be curbing fatal accidents only during the day time as motorists continue to flirt with danger during night and early morning hours.

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In the latest incident, a Delhi Police constable was killed and his colleague injured during late night when a Mercedes car, driven at a high speed, hit the motorcycle he was riding during night patrol.

At least 200 people have died on Delhi's roads during the first three months of this year in accidents at night hours. More than 900 lives were lost in a similar fashion in 2011. According to the police, almost 50 per cent of the total road accidents take place between 9pm and 8am. Particularly, the time between 11pm and 7am — when the Traffic Police are off the roads, signals are on the blinker mode and speed interceptors useless because of dark — claims 25 to 30 per cent of lives.

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"The city has 5,771 traffic cops — 400 of them were recruited in December last year. With limited resources, we cannot introduce night vigil at the cost of management during the day," said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

"Staff crunch is not the only problem," said police chief BK Gupta, adding, "Technology can give a lasting solution."

Though the Delhi Police's dream project — the technology based traffic management system known as Intelligent Traffic System — is far from reality, the police are planning to install speed cameras at 70 strategic locations in the city within two months.

These cameras can record speed of vehicles during day and night.