Delhi roads turn fatal during night

A number of accidents in Delhi take place late at night or early in the morning when the presence of traffic police on roads is thin. According to Delhi Traffic Police, drunk driving and speeding are two major reasons for road accidents.

A number of accidents in Delhi take place late at night or early in the morning when the presence of traffic police on roads is thin. According to Delhi Traffic Police, drunk driving and speeding are two major reasons for road accidents.

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From morning till late evening, the traffic cops do their best to stem road accidents. And their strict vigil and persecution of such drivers have actually brought changed the way motorists drive on city roads.

"During night, people's driving skills change owing to thin police presence, less volume of vehicular traffic, increase in the number of commercial vehicles, non-functional traffic lights at some points and signal-free roads such as Ring Road, Outer Ring Road and highways. They encourage motorists to step on the gas and drive in a speed beyond permissible limits," said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

He said about 25 per cent of accidents take place between 11pm and 7am when traffic police generally stay off roads.

"Even if we double the presence of our men in this time period, road accidents will go down barely by 2 per cent. Also, we cannot afford this exercise as our priority is to manage traffic when its volume is at its peak," Garg added.

But traffic police do say they will install laser speed violation detection system on roads to keep a constant eye on lakhs of motorists during day and night. The installation process will start within a month.