18 new black spots identified in Police Commissionerate limits
As many as 18 new black spots have been identified within the limits of the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate, a latest government report has revealed.
With 71 old accident-prone spots, the tally of black spots has gone up to 89, which was the highest count in any commissionerate or district in the state. However, six old black spots have been eliminated in the commissionerate limits during the past two years.
With this, Ludhiana continues to carry the dubious distinction of being the “most accident-prone” city in the state.
A study on the identification and rectification of accident black spots in the state was conducted by the Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre (PRSTRC), led by its Director, Dr Navdeep K Asija, with the help of the Punjab Police.
The study was part of the annual report on ‘Road Crashes and Traffic in Punjab 2023’, which was released by Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav recently.
The report, which was prepared following an extensive research by a team of experts led by the ADGP (Traffic and Road Safety), AS Rai, a copy of which is available with The Tribune, revealed that a total of 678 accident black spots have been identified across 28 police districts/commissionerate areas of the state.
Dr Asija, who is also the traffic advisor to the Punjab Government, said the document titled ‘Road Accident Blackspot Identification and Rectification in Punjab 2020-2022 Phase (IV)’ was prepared by the PRSTRC with a primary purpose to identify accident black spots in the state, aiming to better management of traffic on roads through scientific and data-driven techniques, contributing to the overall improvement in road safety.
“Of the total 583 accidental black spots identified in Punjab in the previous Phase-III (2019-2021), 458, accounting for 79 per cent, still exist as recurring/ existing black spots during the Phase-IV of accident black spot identification process for 2020-2022,” he said.
Dr Asija said during the study period from 2020-2022, a total of 220 new accidental black spots were identified, which were 33 per cent of the total black spots existing on various highways/roads of the state.
In accordance with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) guidelines, the identification of black spots encompasses state highways, major district roads, other district roads, village roads and urban roads.
Rai, who has been spearheading the sustained road safety campaign for the past few years and has recently constituted the country’s first exclusive and dedicated road safety force in the state, said a significant concentration of the black spots was observed on National Highways-44 and 5, which pass through the city limits, signifying the urgent need for targeted safety measures.
Dr Asija said during the previous study between 2019 and 2021, the road safety evaluation within the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate limits had identified a total of 77 accident black spots, of which only six were eliminated before the latest study.
The old black spots encompassed 52 recurring or existing black spots with a documented history of accidents resulting in fatalities or severe injuries, along with 25 newly identified black spots, where a sudden surge in mishaps occurred during the previous study.
Notably, the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate district stands out with one of the highest numbers of black spots in the region.
The newly identified 18 black spots included seven on national highways, one on a state highway, two on major district roads and eight on MC/urban roads within the Ludhiana commissionerate limits.
The old black spots that existed included 54 on national highways, eight on state highways, one on major district roads, two on other district roads and six were located on MC/urban roads.
What is a black spot
According to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the road accident black spot on the national highway is a road stretch of about 500-m in length in which either five road accidents, involving fatalities or grievous injuries, have taken place or 10 fatalities have been reported during the past three calendar years.
Punjab had adopted this definition for the entire state, covering all highways, and had undertaken the task of identification and rectification of black spots in the state on the directions of the then Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan in April 2021 with an aim to making the state roads safer and smoother for driving.
To improve traffic management: ADGP
"The primary purpose of the exercise is to identify black spots in the state, aiming to better management of traffic through scientific techniques, ultimately contributing to overall improvement in road safety,"said AS Rai, ADGP (Traffic & Road Safety).
Recommendations
The report stressed the need that the Police Commissionerate should take up special engineering improvement and enforcement emphasis in almost all police stations that have the majority of black spots coming under their belt.
