With pedestrians forming a major chunk of road fatalities in the National Capital, the Delhi Traffic Police has identified nearly 500 vulnerable intersections in the city.
These crossings have no pedestrian cross-over facility, imperiling hundreds of lives every day. Even the zebra markings on many of these locations are not properly visible.
The Traffic Police has written to various road-owning agencies to paint zebra crossings afresh so that they are clearly visible during the day and night.
The findings emerged in a recently-concluded traffic police survey on pedestrian safety. It identified 483 points on arterial roads and traffic intersections where zebra crossing either did not exist or had faded away.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Shukla said these points witness heavy flow of vehicles that pose a threat to pedestrians’ safety. “We found that pedestrians are the most vulnerable lot among all road users in terms of fatal accidents on the city roads. During the survey, it was found that in absence of proper markings to cross intersections, pedestrians cross the roads in a haphazard way as per their convenience. Such movements prove fatal at times as they are hit by vehicles. Zebra crossings would help in reducing such accidents,” he added. According to traffic police data, last year 832 lost their lives in the total of 2,281 accidents involving pedestrians.
last week, Shukla wrote to all road owing agencies in the Capital to ensure that zebra crossing on these identified points are in proper shape and clearly visible. He wrote to agencies like the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Public Works Department (DDA), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Municipal Corporations, Central Public Works Department (CPWD), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and GMR - the Delhi Airport operator.
A majority of the vulnerable points - 318 in total -- fall on roads owned by the PWD, followed by NDMC that has 71 such points. “A majority of the hit and run incidents are reported during the night. It is also because existing zebra crossings prove ineffective. Therefore, agencies have been advised to use proper materials for painting zebra crossings to make them clearly visible even during the night,” he added.