Punjab saw drop in road fatalities last year: Report
The decline in road fatalities in the state is against the countrywide trend, which has witnessed an increase of 9.4% in road fatalities in 2022
Punjab has witnessed a decline of 0.24% in road accident fatalities in 2022 as compared to 2021, said director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Friday. In 2022, Punjab registered 4,578 road accident fatalities.
The DGP, while launching the annual report on Punjab road crashes and traffic-2022, said the declining trend is likely to be accelerated with the launch of the first-of-its-kind Sadak Surakhya Force (SSF), a special police team dedicated to road safety and effectively chasing criminals.
The decline in road fatalities in the state is against the countrywide trend, which has witnessed an increase of 9.4% in road fatalities in 2022, resulting in 1.68 lakh road accident fatalities in India.
“The SSF is expected to hit the roads soon, which will not only help in saving precious lives by reducing mishaps but also streamline the traffic movement in the state,” he said.
The DGP, while expressing his appreciation for the hard work put in by the teams of Punjab Police, Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre, urged the public to follow road safety rules and regulations to make the roads of Punjab safer.
ADGP (traffic) AS Rai said the annual report is an initiative taken by Punjab Police and Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre. It comprises an in-depth analysis of road accidents, traffic violations, and road safety measures in Punjab, he added.
He said the report is expected to be a valuable resource for traffic and law enforcement personnel to understand and address traffic-related issues in the state, besides, it will also serve as an important reference material for scholars and academicians working in the field of road safety.
Sharing key findings of the report, Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre director Dr Navdeep Asija said in 2022, 5.55 lakh motor vehicles were registered in Punjab accounting for an annual increasing growth rate of 7.44%. The total cumulative registered vehicles in Punjab till August 2023 were 1.33 crore, he added.
He said a decline in road fatalities was observed in February, July, September, October, November and December, whilst an increase in road accident fatalities in all other months was observed as compared with the previous year 2021. Over speeding and animals remained a leading cause of road accident deaths in Punjab, he said, while adding that in 2022, 2,085 people died in road accidents due to over speeding followed by 421 due to involvement of animals.
