Road safety campaign yields results as mishap deaths dip in Punjab
Nitin Jain
Ludhiana, October 30
In what appears to be the result of a sustained road safety campaign, the state has registered a dip in road accident deaths, which was contrary to the rising trend recorded at the national level as well as in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Rajasthan in 2022.
However, Ludhiana continues to be the “accident capital” of the state, with the highest number of 630 deaths in a maximum of 786 mishaps reported in the district last year.
This was revealed in the recent report compiled by the Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre (PRSTRC).
Road safety in focus: ADGP
With the introduction of the 24×7 Sadak Surakhiya Force, the previously unaddressed aspects of traffic enforcement will be managed by improved engineering and emergency care. From intuition based to rational and scientific way of doing things, Punjab managed to decrease the mishap deaths with focus on road safety.” AS Rai, ADGP Traffic
Amardeep Singh Rai, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Traffic, told The Tribune here on Monday that the state had recorded 4,578 deaths in 5,968 road accidents in 2022, which were less than 4,589 casualties reported during 2021, and even 2018 when 4,740 persons had lost their lives in the fatal road accidents in the border state.
“With 1.68 lakh road accident fatalities, the country has recorded a jump of 9 per cent in 2022, while Punjab has reversed the trend with fewer casualties,” he said.
He added that neighbouring states like Haryana and Rajasthan, which share similar attributes, have reported an increase of 6.7 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, compared to 2021.
Rai — who has been spearheading the sustained road safety campaign for the last few years and has recently constituted the special road safety force — said a significant 26 per cent of the total fatalities last year had occurred during the evening hours between 6 pm and 9 pm.
PRSTRC Director Navdeep Asija, who is also the Traffic Advisor for Punjab, said: “By employing a data-driven approach and a scientific methodology with minimal resources, we have not only managed to reverse the trend but are also poised to set new standards for the entire country.”
According to the report, the state had reported 4,578 deaths in 5,968 road accidents, which had also left 2,617 persons seriously injured in 2022.
While 4,589 deaths and 2,032 serious injuries were recorded in 5,871 road mishaps in 2021, 4,740 fatalities and 3,380 serious injuries were reported in 6,426 road accidents in the state in 2018.
However, the years 2020 and 2019 had witnessed less casualties. While 3,898 deaths and 1,737 serious injuries were recorded in 5,203 road accidents in 2020, 4,525 deaths and 2,655 serious injuries were reported in 6,348 road mishaps in the state in 2019.
