The metropolis recorded 78 fatalities as a result of street accidents final 12 months, a 19% drop from 96 deaths in 2021, in line with information compiled by the Chandigarh Traffic Police.

The fatalities in 2022 had been additionally the second lowest since 2014, the bottom being 53 in 2020, primarily owing to the Covid lockdowns within the metropolis.

Apart from fatalities, at 74, the variety of deadly accidents in Chandigarh in 2022 was solely increased than 53 such mishaps in 2020, since 2014.

As Covid restrictions had been lifted in 2021 and site visitors motion returned again to regular, the variety of accidents additionally rose from 53 to 94 and the following fatalities from 53 to 96 because the earlier 12 months.

Apart from deadly accidents, Chandigarh additionally logged 159 non-fatal accidents in 2022, during which 206 individuals suffered accidents. Once finalised, the info might be shared with the Union ministry of street transport and highways.

What led to the dip

Speaking in regards to the causes behind the dip in fatalities final 12 months, senior superintendent of police (SSP, Traffic) Manisha Choudhary mentioned, “The traffic police focused on road safety awareness drives by roping in NGOs, resident/market welfare associations and schools, which helped Sensitize people about the importance of traffic rules.

The SSP added that conscious engineering changes around the city also played a big role in bringing fatal accidents down: “We have recommended and implemented various engineering interventions, including table tops at black spots to slow down fast-approaching vehicles, installation of convex mirrors at blind spots, installation of more cautionary signages, iron grilles on major roads and installation of spring posts to decongest market areas.”

She additionally hailed the great community of CCTV cameras put in within the metropolis below the Integrated Command Control Center (ICCC) for making commuters adjust to site visitors guidelines even at evening.

Under the ICCC undertaking, greater than 1,000 cameras have been put in across the metropolis, together with in any respect entry and exit factors, to test site visitors violations and keep a file of all autos getting into and leaving the town.

The ICCC has additionally helped site visitors police remotely challenge e-challans for site visitors violations, because the cameras can mechanically learn the quantity plate of the offending autos.

As many as 1.86 lakh challans had been issued for rushing within the metropolis in 2022, of which round 60% had been issued by way of the ICCC system.

Sharing his tackle the drop in fatalities, Punjab site visitors advisor and member of the state-level Road Safety Council, Navdeep Asija mentioned, “The two-dimensional technique of authorities to tremendous offending autos and lower down rushing, whereas additionally safeguarding susceptible commuters, like pedestrians and cyclists, by way of infrastructure upgrades and making extra two-wheeler riders put on helmets is bringing outcomes. An in depth evaluation of those figures will deliver extra readability about what labored.”

evening hours deadliest

According to site visitors police’s information, at 22, most fatalities befell between 9 pm and 12 pm. This was adopted by 12 fatalities between 12 am and three am.

As per site visitors authorities, that is when persons are returning house after recreation submit work, and are prone to drive drunk and overspeed amid low site visitors quantity.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP, Road Safety) Jaswinder Singh mentioned it was additionally a reason for concern that comparatively excessive variety of fatalities befell throughout much less busy hours like from 6 am to 9 am, when seven individuals died in street accidents, just one lower than eight between 9 am and 12 pm, when the roads see a lot increased site visitors throughout workplace hours. In comparability, the fatalities had been down to a few between 3 am and 6 am.

Singh mentioned the site visitors police will establish deliver down the fatalities throughout these hours.

The site visitors police had additionally restarted drunk driving nakas in December 2022 and round 100 challans for the offense have been issued since then.