Pedestrian deaths have come down this year by 14 per cent in the national Capital. Preventive interventions by Delhi Traffic Police have saved 93 lives as 673 pedestrian deaths have been reported till November this year, as against 766 last year. Police claim that several speed calming measures such as rumble strips, speed breakers and thorough drives conducted by their teams have led to a significant drop in pedestrian deaths. Improvisation of the road geometry along with the road owning agencies is also crucial in reducing fatal crashes.
Apart from this, the fatalities of cyclists has also cone down to 78 this year till November, as against 106 deaths last year. The figures reveal that there has been a marginal decline of 7 per cent in the lives of cyclists claimed in road accidents. In total, the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed in road accidents has dropped to 1,608 this year as compared to 1,728 last year.
With a futuristic view to improve the road geometry to prevent fatal accidents, the traffic police have identified accident prone zones for the pedestrians. “Nigam Bodh Ghat, Aligaon near Badarpur, Peeragarhi, Azadpur Chowk, Shastri Park, Ashram, ISBT underpass, Modi Mill flyover, Rohtak Road (Navi Bagh) have been identified as the most vulnerable stretched for the pedestrian road users. Several preventive measures and interventions will have to be taken to make these zones less vulnerable for the pedestrians,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Anil Shukla.
Traffic Police have also identified 13 accident prone zones for the cyclists in the city. These include Shakarpur, Madipur Metro station, Mohammad Pur, Sarita Vihar flyover, Karkari Mod, Paschim Vihar Metro station and Narela. “Proper utilisation of the existing Non Motor Vehicle (NMV) lanes and pedestrian lanes can significantly reduce the number of road deaths as these lanes segregate the high speed traffic from other road users. Creation of more NMV lanes will also bring down fatal accidents and road deaths, if these lanes are not encroached upon illegally and used as a parking space. Hefty penalty should be slapped on the encroachers to dissuade them from illegally using the NMV lanes for parking space or other purposes,” added Shukla.
Road safety experts suggest that the awareness campaigns for all kinds of road users go a long step in preventing road crashes by sensitizing the vehicle owners for all kind of road traffic. To save the lives of the bicycle riders, who are the most vulnerable of the road users, the Traffic Police has started a campaign to ensure that safety stickers are put on the mud guards of one lakh bicycles in the city.