Gurugram: Less traffic, but last year saw more road deaths than 2019

GURUGRAM: For about six months last year, there was a significant drop in traffic volume across the city because of the lockdown, but when it comes to road fatalities, the figure shot up by about 37% compared to 2019, says data compiled by Safer Roads For Gurugram (SRFG).
According to the data based on FIRs filed by city police, Safer Roads For Gurugram (SRFG) has claimed that while the number of road accidents came down in 2020 compared to the previous year, more deaths had been recorded.
SRFG is an initiative of the Haryana transport department in collaboration with Anheuser Busch InBev.
While in 2020, 375 road accident deaths were reported, the number was 235 in 2019. According to the data, the city witnessed 880 accidents last year compared to 1,157 in 2019. A month-wise breakdown of data revealed that the maximum number of road accidents were recorded in January and February when the lockdown hadn’t kicked in.
The figure was the lowest between April and June 2020 with 110 accidents — almost half of what was recorded in 2019 for the same time period. The national lockdown had been imposed for these months. The numbers went up again in the later half of the year when travel restrictions were lifted.
Road safety experts have said that due to fewer vehicles on the roads, the number of accidents also came down. But the crashes that were recorded were mostly fatal.
The traffic police department has said that because most roads were largely empty there was a rise in the number of speeding cases in 2020. Of the 375 road deaths recorded last year, 62% cases pertained to speeding and 27% were related to rash driving.
Road safety experts said the severity of accidents increased on lean traffic days due to absence of safety measures, like lane segregation, proper lighting, absence of traffic cameras and police personnel.
Last year, most accidents were recorded on Pataudi Road.“There are no speed calming measures in place. The road has properties on either side and many internal roads lead to it at multiple points, making it prone to accidents. The areas where the road intersects with the under-construction Dwarka Expressway is hazardous. There is hardly any signage on the road and the surface is rough. The situation is similar for Sohna Road,” said city-based road safety expert Sewa Ram.
In the past five years, Hero Honda Chowk, one of the busiest areas in the city, has witnessed over 82 accidents, leading to eight deaths. The SRFG, in its assessment, found out that the four-legged intersection has no barricades on the turning lane.
There are no road markings or stop lines for pedestrian crossings as well.
Recently, SFRG collaborated with the transport department and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to improve the design of the junction.
“We designed a larger island to act as a pedestrian refuge area, along with fencing, to regulate pedestrian movement. We also constructed pedestrian sheds that act as pickup/drop-off areas for auto rickshaws and taxis. We have also installed lane markers, shoulder markers and road studs,” said AB InBev vice-president Anasuya Ray.
Although the traffic police department has said that they are stepping up vigil, experts said stricter steps have to be taken to ensure roads are safer.
“Lockdown was the right time for the government to conduct safety audits on these roads and come up with area-specific measures. There has to be an integration of technologies, like cameras, and the presence of cops at vulnerable spots. Lack of vigilance in the form of cameras, speed calming measures and police presence leads to violation,” Ram added.