Project to reduce road accidents launched by Delhi government

NEW DELHI: In an effort to reduce injuries and deaths due to road crashes in the city, the Delhi government has launched a ‘Zero Fatality Corridor’ project with Save Life Foundation to scientifically assess the cause of crashes on the Outer Ring Road stretch between Burari and Bhalswa Chowk.

On the occasion of the 30th Road Safety Week, the three-kilometer stretch which is prone to fatal accidents round the year has been chosen for the pilot project. The NGO, which took similar initiatives on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, has, according to the Delhi government, reduced road crash deaths by 30 per cent.

According to the transport department, the Save Life Foundation will conduct scientific crash investigation to study the reasons for the road injuries and deaths. Based on the causal factors identified, it will recommend countermeasures for Delhi government and Delhi Police to implement to make the corridor fatality-free.

Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said that nodal officers had been appointed in various departments for better coordination to execute the action plan mandated by the road safety policy, notified by the Delhi government in July last year.

The action plan calls for commissioning a road safety audit of top 20 accident-prone zones in the city. Such zones are places of around 500 metres diameter having three fatal or a total of 10 accidents.
According to the data provided by Delhi Traffic Police, 1,690 people were killed and 6,086 people injured in 6,515 road crashes in 2018.

The three-kilometre stretch contains four black spots, namely Burari Chowk, Bhalswa Chowk, Jahangirpuri Bus Stand and Mukundpur Chowk, is known to be one of the most dangerous stretches, having claimed 67 lives in 2016 and 2017.