Driving at road safety, the Punjab Police has come out with a roadmap for applying brakes on accidents in a scientific manner. Its traffic police wing has prepared an 11-point “traffic agenda for 2023” which includes reviving the existing highway patrol system with the induction of 150 patrolling vehicles, introducing e-challan system, inducting 15 road safety professionals, among other steps.
The agenda came over a fortnight after the Punjab Police released the annual report on “Road Accidents and Traffic – 2021”, highlighting that on an average, 13 persons die every day in accidents on the state’s roads, with ‘over speeding’ and ‘driving on the wrong side’ emerging as the leading cause of accidental deaths in Punjab.
The traffic agenda was shared by the Punjab Police on its official Twitter handle, stating that the “Traffic Wing of the #PunjabPolice will continue to strive to create an efficient and safe traffic environment for all road users in the state…Let’s all work together in a collaborative manner and follow traffic rules so that the commuters can travel safely on the roads.”
As per the agenda, the traffic police has decided to introduce 150 highway patrol vehicles “with a comprehensive Highway Patrol System in Punjab by reviving the existing Highway Patrol in the state”.
The state traffic police will also improve the traffic flow and enforcement by using new technology, focusing on preventive measures, and collaborating with other departments, like Mandi Board, Public Works Department, Rural and Panchayats, Local Government, Health, Education, among others.
In a first-of-its-kind move in the country, the state traffic police also intend to take the services of 15 road safety professionals who would “join the traffic police wing to manage traffic in a scientific way”.
It also intended to improve the coordination between the Government and other stakeholders working on traffic safety and management. “The aim of this project is to improve communication between the police and other relevant stakeholders”, it added.
It has also decided to introduce state-of-the-art technology to ensure efficient traffic management and enforcement. “A road safety awareness program should include awareness of first-aid, and basic road safety skills, as well as Traffic Education Cell activities,” it added.
As a part of the agenda for the new year, the traffic police wing would establish an effective challan system to ensure strict compliance with the traffic rules and regulations by introducing e-challan system in Punjab.
The state traffic police wing said that a data-driven approach would be used to identify areas for improvement and develop strategies that are tailored to the specific needs of the area. At the same time, attention would be paid to improve the infrastructure so that traffic is smoother and safer by initiating steps like identifying the black spots and rectifying it; improving existing bottlenecks on road infrastructure and regulations for public and para transport systems.
Also, to meet its agenda, it would use a scientific approach that involves advanced technologies and data analytics like smart barricades, 5G-enabled CCTV cameras, body cameras, speed management systems, among others.
A senior police official informed The Pioneer that to begin with, the ambitious e-challan system would be introduced in major cities of Ludhiana, Amritsar, and Jalandhar. The project has already started in Ludhiana city with a coverage of no less than 1400 CCTV cameras across the city.
Report on “Road Accidents and Traffic – 2021”
The report, released by the state Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on December 19, last year, pointed that the journey has ended before the destination for no less than 4,589 persons — witnessing an increase of 17.7 per cent in road accident fatalities in Punjab against the declining trend of the previous year (2020).
The report also pointed out that road accident is one of the leading causes of young people deaths in Punjab. About 70 per cent of the people involved in fatal road accidents in the state were from the age group of 18 to 45.
Also, the three-hour time slot, between 6 pm and 9 pm, turned out to be the deadliest with maximum number of road accidents, accounting for 20.7 percent of the total accidents in the state, recorded during this time.
In another finding, road accidents in the state accounted for a loss of Rs 17,851 crores in 2021 as per the socio-economic cost analysis.
The report also observed that 72 percent of the total road fatalities occurred on the national and state highways — with both comprising 5.93 percent of the total road length in Punjab. “The accidental death rate on National Highway in Punjab is 0.53 per kilometer per year while on the State Highway, it is 1.59 per kilometer per year,” said the report.
Among the total 22 districts in Punjab, three districts — Rupnagar, SBS Nagar, and Fatehgarh Sahib ranked number 1, 2 and 3, respectively where the rate of fatal road accidental deaths is almost 1.7 times the state’s average. “Two out of three districts falling in Rupnagar Police range — namely Rupnagar and Fatehgarh Sahib — are ranked at number 1 and 3 respectively, whereas SBS Nagar is ranked at number 2. Tarn-Taran and Amritsar are amongst the safest in Punjab,” read the report.