Delhi: 89% of accident victims in 2020 pedestrians, cyclists, bikers
NEW DELHI: Pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists accounted for 89% of the 1,197 deaths that occurred due to road accidents in the national capital in 2020, a report released by the Delhi transport department on Wednesday said.
Released by transport minister Kailash Gahlot on Wednesday, the report - ‘Delhi Road Crash Fatalities Report, 2020’ also highlighted that 51% of all fatal accidents in 2020 were hitand-run cases.
It also said that instances of fatal hit-and-run crashes increased by 4% in 2020 as compared to 2019.
“In 2020, a total of 89% of the 1,197 deaths occurred among vulnerable road users – pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists… The risk of death is relatively higher for men aged between 30 to 34 and 50 to 54 years… Among women, road traffic death risk is highest over the age of 60,” the report said.
Among motorcyclists, younger men aged 20 to 34 years accounted for 179 deaths, which is the highest in this category. “Fatal crashes occurred most frequently between 8pm and 1am on both weekdays and weekends, with a peak recorded between midnight and 1am,” the report said.
According to the report, most road accident deaths were reported on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays between 10pm and midnight. Among these cases, maximum took place between midnight and 2am on Sunday, as per the analysis of accident cases by day and time of the incident, the report said. “Through the detailed analysis of the road crashes, we are identifying high risk locations and areas to implement strategic interventions and thus help save thousands of lives. Studies and road redesign efforts taken up in the past have proven that crashes are preventable and such evidence based reports will help us take corrective steps to reduce crashes on Delhi roads,” Gahlot said.
Through the analysis, the government has identified at least five “high risk corridors” and four “high-risk areas”. The high risk corridors include GT Karnal RoadAzadpur roundabout to Singhu, Wazirabad Road and Pushta Road, which recorded the highest number of deaths per kilometre.
In absolute numbers, corridors such as Outer Ring Road and Ring Road reported the highest number of persons killed.
Azadpur Chowk, intersection of Outer Ring Road and Wazirabad Road, and the stretch in front of Forensic Science Laboratory, Rohini Sector 14 were identified among the high-risk areas, the report said.
Ashish Kundra, Delhi’s transport commissioner, said, “It is evident from the data that pedestrians and motorcyclists are more at risk.
We have started identifying the high-risk locations and are committed to take remedial steps to reduce accidents and deaths at these spots.”
Motorcyclists, including riders and pillion riders, accounted for 45% and pedestrians for 40% of all the deaths in road crashes.
The report was prepared by the Road Safety Lead Agency (RSLA) of the state transport department in collaboration with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS). The RSLA was formed in 2017 on the direction of the Supreme Court committee on road safety that recommended every state/Union Territory to form a road safety lead agency at the transport department to coordinate and deal with road safety issues.
According to the Supreme Court panel’s directions, the RSLA is tasked with collating road injury crash data periodically, and analysing the numbers to identify high risk areas or road stretches, and at risk road user categories.