Enforcement of road safety rules leads to 8.8% drop in accidents in Delhi

The annual Delhi Police data was released on Monday. It says a total of 7,375 accidents were reported in 2016, while there were 8,085 accidents in 2015.

The Delhi Traffic Police registered an 8.8% drop in accidents in 2016 compared to 2015, states the annual city police report released on Monday.

The 1,548 fatal accidents led to 1,591 deaths, a decrease of 2% as compared to 1,622 deaths in 2015. (Sushil Kumar/HT File Photo)

A total of 7,375 accidents were reported in 2016, while there were 8,085 accidents in 2015. There were 129 non-injury accidents (no one was injured), 5,698 small accidents (victims had minor injuries) and 1,548 fatal accidents.

The 1,548 fatal accidents led to 1,591 deaths, a decrease of 2% as compared to 1,622 deaths in 2015. Over the last six years, the number of deaths has seen a decreasing trend. There were 2,153 road accident deaths in Delhi in 2010.

Joint commissioner of police (traffic) Garima Bhatnagar said most of 40% of the fatal accidents involved people riding two-wheelers. “To ensure there are fewer fatalities, we insist two-wheeler riders wear helmets. This is also the reason why we issued the maximum number of challans for the offence. This has made a major difference and the fatalities are reducing.”   

The traffic police said they have identified 176 accident prone spots in the city and are working with the road owning agencies to ensure that no fatal accidents are reported there.

“Systematic analysis of the accidents to determine the causes, time and place of accidents, types of offending vehicles and suitable deployment of night checking cum patrolling parties by the traffic police has contributed to the decrease in accidents,” said special commissioner of police (traffic) Ajay Kashyap.

The traffic police have written to BSES and PWD to ensure that the dark spots such as Madhuban Chowk and Ashram, where most accidents happen, are well lit.

The number of motor vehicles on Delhi roads has increased from 2.17 lakh in 1971 to 19.23 lakh in 1991 to 74.38 lakh in 2011 and approximately a crore in 2016. traffic police officer said the increasing fleet of vehicles in Delhi, the increasing freight movement are some factors causing road accidents.