Accident deaths on the rise in Gurugram

GURUGRAM: THE one-year report of Haryana Vision Zero, giving an insight into accident fatalities between July 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018 across the seven districts of Haryana, has revealed that Gurugram is the district where the number of fatalities has increased as compared to the same period last year.

While the district recorded 348 fatalities in 2016-17, the figure shot up to 403 in 2017-18.

The Haryana Vision Zero is a road safety concept introduced by the state government in May 2017, based on a similar strategy adopted by the Swedish government in the 1990s to achieve zero fatality in road accidents.

According to officials from Haryana Vision Zero, one of the reasons for this rise is the lack of implemention of their recommendations, which include engineering changes and construction of structures that can prevent accidents or reduce their impact.

“Several recommendation for engineering changes were put forward before the authorities. These included installing speed tables, traffic lights, speed humps, footpaths, cycle tracks, and zebra crossing at various inter-junctions and crossings. Barring construction of a speed bump at Rezang La Chowk, the authorities have so far failed to act on any of the other recommendations,” an official of the Haryana Vision Zero team said on the condition of anonymity.

The Haryana Vision Zero consists of road safety officials from both public and private sectors, who started work from July 1 last year. The team has so far inspected 4,160 km of roadways across Haryana, investigated 760 accidents, audited 78 black spots and made recommendations to officials concerned.

Members of the group say that 80% of their recommendations have been implemented leading to a reduction of around 8% in fatalities in the seven districts where the group has been directing its efforts since July last year.