City reports 13.79% dip in night accidents

Both the total number of accidents and deaths due to accidents have gone down this year as compared to the previous year, as per police data. As against 1,179 accidents

Both the total number of accidents and deaths due to accidents have gone down this year as compared to the previous year, as per police data. As against 1,179 accidents and 453 accident-related deaths in 2018, there were 1,069 accidents and 400 deaths this year.

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Haryana Vision Zero (HVZ) and the Haryana Police both said that the decline was due to stricter enforcement of rules, regular monitoring of the accident spots in the city and faithful implementation of suggestions recommended by road safety experts in the past year.

The data shared by the police also shows that the number of fatal accidents at night has come down by almost 13.79 %. In 2018, 232 fatal accidents were reported during the night. Such cases were reduced to 200 this year. The special campaign vehicles, manned by 24 trained police persons, along with regular drives and deployment of police personnel, has helped in reducing the number of accidents, the police said.

The city police said a robust campaign against drink driving and enhanced deployment of traffic police personnel to crack down on rule violators have helped to make city roads safer for motorists.

Muhammad Akil, the commissioner of the Gurugram police, said they have identified 22 ‘blackspots’ in the city from where most fatal accidents were reported. He said the police are closely worked with civic agencies to tackle some of the issues related to road safety.

“We had identified the accident-prone stretches in the city and have analysed the main reasons for accidents. In most of the cases, the accidents took place due to reasons such as a stationary vehicle on the road, wrong-side driving and jaywalking,” said Akil.

Maximum accidents were reported from places such as Shankar Chowk, Ghata crossing, Bilaspur crossing, Sector 10, Pataudi, and IMT Manesar. Also, Hero Honda Chowk has emerged as a “dangerous spot” along with the crossing at Sidhrawali, where speeding caused most of the fatal accidents, Akil said.

The traffic police have roped in 200 home guards and 50 personnel from the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) for traffic management, he said.

“The assistant commissioner of police(traffic) has personally visited the ‘blackspots’ and asked three members to fill a form related to accident spots every time an accident takes place. Based on this, an evaluation report has been prepared and submitted to the ACP concerned,” said Akil.

“After each fatal accident, the team evaluates and discusses the nature of the spot and the accident. If any immediate change is required, action is taken by the traffic police. We also inform the MCG officials if their help is required to fill the potholes or any repair in the road structure”, he added.

The analysis includes the type of vehicle involved, the exact scenario during the time of accidents and details such as speed and the time of the accident to understand what caused the accident in the first place.

The police said they have also prepared a list of solutions required to reduce the number of accidents. They have written to the MCG to install proper signage at various intersections, warnings boards before merging traffic, speed breakers, properly constructed central verges and suchlike, officials said.

“Effective enforcement and infrastructure improvement as a result of the Haryana Vision Zero program for some of the high-risk locations are the main reasons why there is a significant reduction in road traffic deaths in Gurugram. The city needs to continue working together as a significant number of lives can be saved on Gurugram roads. We in a joint drive with the police have rectified many road designs and have filled potholes, which were resulting in accidents,” said HVZ programme coordinator Sarika Panda Bhatt said. There are 1,000 traffic personnel deployed across the city. To make them safer during night duty, they have been provided with reflective lights, jackets and hand gloves.