Monday, June 24, 2013

Tuesday: Accidents come down a peg

CHANDIGARH: It takes some divine intervention to make the city's roads a bit safer on Tuesday, with a fewer drunken people behind the wheel. This has come to the fore in a study got conducted by the UT traffic police on fatal accidents. 

Where 19 to 21 accidents took place on other days of the week during 2012, the figure was 14 for Tuesday, which is attributed to abstinence for religious reasons by a large population. 

Navdeep Asija, traffic management researcher, said a majority of liquor vend owners contacted during the study revealed that sale of liquor plunges on Tuesday. The objective of the study was to see if the sustained drive against drunken driving on weekends was having an effect, and strategize for the future. "The study is based on data collected from different sources and an analysis of traffic movement with focus on Tuesdays," he says. 

Even after identifying killer spots in the city, the UT engineering and urban planning departments have been sitting on suggestions to streamline traffic movements. 

A study, "Chandigarh Road Crash Analysis", shows 32.35% of those who lost lives in road accidents in 2012 were pedestrians. But where cyclists have higher likelihood to get killed at intersections, pedestrians seem to be more vulnerable mid-block due to missing footpaths and zebra crossings. 

Cyclists have higher likelihood to get killed at intersections with 88% of them involved in fatal crashes. Similarly, slow moving traffic like cycle rickshaw and auto rickshaw are found more vulnerable at intersections. At most intersections on Madhya Marg, over 12,000 to 15,000 vehicles pass in one hour. 

DIG Alok Kumar says the survey was a part of the plan of traffic police to crack down on drunken driving to prevent road accidents.

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