Road mishap deaths in Punjab dipped 18% in 2020 over 2019

CHANDIGARH : Punjab saw a decline of 15% in road accident fatalities and 18% reduction in road accidents during 2020, as compared to 2019.

Official data shows that 5,194 accidents were reported in 2020, while 3,866 persons lost their lives in road accidents.

Giving this information, director general of police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta said during the ongoing road safety month (January 18 to February 17), Punjab Police have organised 521 road safety camps and 542 road safety seminars, besides holding 152 awareness rallies across the state.

The department has sensitised around 1.33 lakh students from schools and colleges and 1.28 lakh citizens on road safety and traffic rules.

Gupta added that a pilot project “Accident Resolution Team- ART” was initiated in Patiala district under which the teams led by the station house officer (SHO) visits and inspects black spots in their respective jurisdictions.

“Patiala police have formulated 25 such ARTs and as many as 20 rectifications have already been realised, mostly on the Patiala-Sirhind road, resulting in a remarkable decline in the accident rate,” he said in a statement.

A standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent deaths due to stray animals has been formulated by state police and cattle accident black spots are also being identified, said the DGP, adding that 25 such black spots, mostly in the Malwa belt, have been earmarked and reflective tapes are being tied around the necks of stray cattle to avert accidents.

Traffic adviser Navdeep Asija said after analysing the Road Accident Database Management System, as many as 391 black spots were identified in Punjab, of which 100 black spots have already been rectified by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) while 31 black spots are being corrected by the public works department (PWD).

ADGP, traffic, Sharad Satya Chauhan said traffic wing has established a first of its kind Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre in Mohali, which uses scientific tools of artificial intelligence and machine learning to find solutions to curb road accidents fatalities in the state.

Traffic wing has established a first of its kind Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre in Mohali, which uses scientific tools...to curb mishap fatalities in the state. SHARAD SATYA CHAUHAN, ADGP, traffic, Punjab