Crackdowns push road deaths to 10-yr low

Crackdowns and campaigns by the Delhi traffic police seem to have paid off — in 2012, the Capital saw the lowest number of road deaths in 10 years.

Crackdowns and campaigns by the Delhi traffic police seem to have paid off — in 2012, the Capital saw the lowest number of road deaths in 10 years.

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If all goes well till the clock strikes 12 on December 31, the number of fatalities will be around 1,800 — well below the 2,000 figure that Delhi crossed during the past seven years.

According to the cops, an emphasis on pedestrian safety, efforts to curb speeding and consistent crackdowns on drunk drivers and commercial vehicles helped bring the figure down.

“Since the beginning of this year, we have taken several measures that led to a decline in pedestrian deaths. We are confident we will limit road deaths to 1,800 this year,” said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic). “Delhi is the only metro that has witnessed a constant drop in road deaths for the past three years.”

Pedestrians are the prime victims of road accidents. The number of pedestrian deaths dropped from 934 in 2011 to 799 this year. The data reflects figures recorded till December 15.

A total of 1,786 people died in 1,741 road accidents this year. Last year, 2,003 accidents had claimed 2,059 lives.