If you’re a Delhi resident, you may be suffering long traffic jams on your way to work or even if you’re just driving around in the city. But guess what, given the way people drive in the national capital, it turns out these grid locks might just be saving lives. Studies conducted by Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) show that the increase in traffic congestion in Delhi might actually have resulted in fewer accidents over the last year. According to the data analysed by CRRI, until July 2016, 543 people have died in road accidents in the capital, as opposed to 824 deaths over the same period in the last year. “One of the reasons for the slump in road fatalities is the decreased average speed of vehicles due to traffic jams. When a vehicle has a lower possibility of speeding, the chances of meeting with an accident also comes down,” According to the Institute, peak traffic speed in Delhi, which used to 30 km/hr has come down to 15 km/hr in some places. That’s the speed bicycles travel at. And according to the police, road fatalities are at an all time low, with the current statistics being the lowest in 26 years.
Since 1990, the total number of registered vehicles on Delhi streets has also been on the rise and has gone up from 1.76 million to 9.5 million in 2013. This is despite there being only a 3 per cent increase in road space. So in real effect, the percentage of reduction against the number of vehicles is even more.
Commodore Ranbir Talwar
ED, IHIF
