New Delhi, August 03: Over 2,000 people lose their lives in road accidents in the Capital every year; more than fifty per cent of these are pedestrians. Incidentally, Delhi’s “death hour” is between 10 and 11 pm, when the maximum number of fatal accidents has been reported.
A detailed analysis of last year’s data on road accidents has revealed the rush to meet Commonwealth Games deadlines and the many ongoing construction projects have taken their toll.
Last year, 384 accidents were reported till June 15. This year, however, the number stands at 415. Joint Commissioner (Traffic) S N Shrivastava blames the increase in the number of road accidents on ongoing construction work across the city.
“Due to simultaneous construction work at different places in Delhi, the traffic is very turbulent. There is a lot of obstruction on the roads, and this is responsible for the increase in the number of accidents,” he said. Twenty-four flyovers are underconstruction at present.
The Ring Road once again tops the list of deadly roads — 163 accidents were reported on this road alone. On the Ring Road, the deadliest spot is ISBT Chowk, where 23 people lost their lives last year alone, a majority of them pedestrians.
It is closely followed by the Shastri Park intersection and Hyatt Regency Hotel, where 18 people lost their lives. Even after the construction of a flyover, Dhaula Kuan continues to be a death trap — 17 people died here last year.
Ashram Chowk reported 11 deaths last year. Thirteen deaths were reported from the Okhla T-point last year. The Outer Ring Road, meanwhile, reported 99 accidents.
Meanwhile, rash driving and speeding are the biggest causes of accidents. Each year, 69 per cent of deaths on Delhi’s roads are reportedly due to the driver’s fault.
However, Delhi’s roads are also responsible for three per cent of accidents. Last year, 68 people lost their lives due to bad road conditions and faulty road design.
This could be anything from a missing central verge to an open hole or pit on the road. Out of these, the main contributor to the number of fatal accidents is the absence of a central verge. In 2008, 33 people lost their lives due to this; another 18 died due to a hole or an unattended pit. These holes and pits include unguarded civil work sites.
Delhi’s poor streetlighting infrastructure is also to blame. Last year, 78 people lost their lives on Delhi roads due to low visibility. “We have seen that this is more prominent in the outer parts of Delhi like Najafgarh and Narela, among others,” Shrivastava said.
–Agencies