In a surprising turn of events, Punjab has reported a notable decline of 0.24 percent in road accident fatalities for the year 2022, in stark contrast to the nationwide trend of a 9.4 percent increase in road fatalities during the same period, as per the Annual Report on ‘Punjab Road Crashes and Traffic-2022;, launched by the state Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Friday.
The state registered 4,578 road accident fatalities in 2022, against the countrywide figure of 1,68,491 road accident fatalities.
Announcing the decline, DGP Gaurav Yadav attributed the “positive trend” to the forthcoming launch of the ‘Sadak Surkhiya Force’ (SSF) — a specialized police team dedicated to road safety.
“The SSF, a brainchild of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is expected to hit the roads soon, which will not only help in saving precious lives by reducing mishaps but will also streamline the traffic movement in the state,” stated the DGP Gaurav Yadav during the report launch.
The report, a joint initiative by Punjab Police and Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre, provides an in-depth analysis of road accidents, traffic violations, and road safety measures in Punjab.
ADGP Traffic AS Rai emphasized its significance as a valuable resource for traffic and law enforcement personnel and a reference material for scholars and academicians in the field of road safety.
Key findings from the report include a decline in road fatalities observed in February, July, September, October, November, and December. On the other hand, an increase in road accident fatalities was observed in all the other months as compared with the previous year 2021.
Over-speeding and animal-related incidents were identified as leading causes of road accident deaths, while in the year 2022, a total of 2085 people died in road accidents due to overspeeding followed by 421 due to the involvement of animals.
The time between 6 pm and 9 pm recorded the highest number of road accident fatalities, constituting 26 per cent of the total in 2022. Additionally, 75 per cent of the road accident fatalities occurred in rural areas.
Sharing further details, Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre’s director Dr Navdeep Asija highlighted a total of 5,55,429 motor vehicles registered in Punjab in 2022, accounting for an annual growth rate of 7.44 per cent. The total cumulative registered vehicles in Punjab till August 2023 was 1.33 crore vehicles (1,32,87,350), he added.
The report also revealed a socio-economic cost analysis, indicating a loss of Rs 21,517 crores in Punjab due to road accidents in 2022.
The findings also painted a concerning picture of the state's road safety landscape. The number of fatalities per million population — a key health burden due to traffic — stood at 142 for Punjab. Notably, Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar, and SAS Nagar (Mohali) emerging as top three districts in this grim statistic.
The report also highlighted that nine district, out of total 23 in the state, reported a decrease in road fatalities. However, districts like Barnala and Kapurthala faced a setback, with their rankings deteriorating from 11th to fifth position and 18th to 12th position, respectively.
Three Police Commissionerate jurisdictions — Ludhiana, Jalandhar, and Amritsar — collectively account for 11.3 per cent of the total share of road accident fatalities in the State.
As per the report findings, the average deployment of traffic police personnel against per lakh population in Punjab stands at 6.5. Currently, 62 highway patrol vehicles are deployed near accident black spots. The number is set to increase significantly, with plans to replace them with 144 new Highway Patrol vehicles.
