Delhi: 1,461 people killed in road accidents in 2022

The national capital has witnessed over three per cent decline in the number of fatality this year as compared to last year data, said police on Tuesday.

New Delhi: The national capital has witnessed over three per cent decline in the number of fatality this year as compared to last year data, said police on Tuesday.

The ‘Delhi Road Crash Report-2022’ released by Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora contains the analysis of the accidents occurred during last year along with the causes, pattern and suggestions in road design, regulation and prosecution, they said.

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The analysis of crashes empowers the government to be more proactive in saving lives on the road through evidence-based and targeted interventions and programmes, police said. “In 2022 till November 30, the number of fatality was 1,342, wherein during the corresponding period of 2023, the number of fatality reported was 1,300 resulting 3.1 per cent decrease,” said a senior police officer.

This decline, according to police, is a testament to the effectiveness of the strategies outlined in the Delhi Road Safety Action Plan (DRSAP). The police commissioner said that 1,461 people lost their lives in 2022.

“In this report, we outline a road safety action plan, which involves the joint efforts of multiple departments to improve education, engineering, enforcement and emergency care. The focus is on designing forgiving infrastructure to reduce the chance of crashes occurring in the first place and then reducing the deadliness in the cases where they do occur,” said Arora.

“The efforts of the Delhi Traffic Police have led to a total reduction in road crash deaths in Delhi by 20 per cent over the last decade. Continuing our endeavour to save lives, we have now increased focus on more pedestrian centric traffic management,” he added.

The report identified the pedestrians as the most vulnerable road users and two wheelers next most vulnerable categories constituting 43 per cent and 38 per cent of the total persons killed in road crashes respectively in 2022, police said, adding the road crashes not only affect the livelihood of the people involved in the crash but also leave a longer imprint on the victims’ families.

The focus area of the traffic police is to enhance the use of technology in smooth traffic management and surveillance and to improve road infrastructure particularly in design and standards for the vulnerable categories of road users, they said.

As the pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are the most vulnerable road users, the focus will continue on the road safety measures for them, including prosecutions and awareness about usage of helmets, Zebra crossings, subways, encroachment free safe pedestrian walkways/footpaths etc, police said.

The Delhi Police has recommended design interventions at crash-prone locations to bring decline in fatalities, they said.  The Delhi Police had last year identified 10 black spots – Mukarba Chowk, Khampur Village, Daula Kuan, Mayapuri Chowk, Gandhi Vihar bus stand, Bhalswa Chowk, Peeragarhi, Punjabi Bagh Chowk, Britannia Chowk and Ashram Chowk.

Meanwhile, Mathura Road, Ring Road, Mehrauli Badarpur Road, Anand Mai Marg, Agra Canal Road, Road No 13A, Jaitpur Road, Outer Ring Road, Okhla Road and Lala Lajpat Rai Path figured in the list of most crash prone roads in Delhi, police said.