harsh

10 die daily in road mishaps in state: Report

Chandigarh Every day, on an average of 10 persons lose their lives in road accidents in Punjab. This is one of the key observations of a recent study — Road Safety India: Challenges and Opportunities — conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in collaboration with the Transportation Research Institute, University of Michigan.

The study, released by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India, states that 30 per cent of road accidents in the state occur in urban areas, 10 per cent in semi-urban and the rest, 60 per cent, in the rural areas.

The accident rate is 2.4 fatalities per kilometre on national highways and 0.9 fatalities a kilometre on state highways, it adds.

Interestingly, negating the common belief that four-laning improves safety, the study reveals that the fatality rate is more than three times higher on the four-lane section of highways as compared to the two-lane sections.

Majority of the incidents are head-on and rear-end crashes, caused by drunken driving and overspeeding.

Analysing urban crashes, the study states that more than 70 per cent of the victims are non-car users. It suggests strict control of drunken driving, enforcement of compulsory helmet laws in all states, and compulsory use of headlights by motor-cyclists in daytime. Separate bicycle and pedestrian lanes, compulsory air in all cars, setting up road safety research centres in academic institutions, and the establishment of a national road safety board are among other recommendations.

Road traffic fatalities have been increasing at the rate of 8 per cent per year in India over the past five years, as compared to 5 per cent in the earlier years, reveals the analysis.

However, as per the city-wise data, Delhi had the highest number of fatalities in 2006 (1,794), at a rate of 140 deaths to every million people and Amritsar comes last at 33. The highest number of fatalities per million are in Agra — 317.

Sources in the state police said every year, around 7,000 accidents take place in the state, which does not include minor ones and those ending in a compromise. In these, around 3,500 people lose their lives and around 8,000 are injured. In 70 per cent of these cases, the deceased are men and of these, 75 per cent are in the age group of 15 to 45 years.

The peak hours of traffic, 3 pm to 6 pm, are also the most dangerous for commuters and the highest number of accidents occur in May and December. Ludhiana and Patiala districts top the accident list, say sources.

Punjab Police has 65 highway patrol vehicles, which give first-aid to 10,000 persons accident victims, every year. The state government is focusing on six districts of Bathinda, Mohali, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar, under its Mega City Plan, which has traffic management as one of the focus points.

Mar 20, 2009