Two-wheeler riders, pedestrians and cyclists accounted for 86% deaths in road accidents in the area under the Ludhiana Commissionerate between 2019 and 2021, according a recent report.
A total of 994 deaths due to road crashes have been reported, out of which 482 were two-wheeler drivers, 298 pedestrians and 84 cyclists, as per the analysis of victim profiles in the report – road safety assessment Ludhiana. The data was compiled and released in the first report published by the Centre for Excellence – Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Management.
The collision-wise analysis of fatalities also revealed that 293 people lost their lives and 98 were grievously injured in collisions when pedestrians were directly hit by vehicles.
As per traffic experts, the main reason behind the high number of two-wheeler riders dying in road accidents lack of enforcement and non-compliance of traffic rules, including speed limit and wearing helmets. More worrying is the share of pedestrians, almost 30 per cent of the total deaths, which is mainly due to a lack of supporting infrastructure for them.
Navdeep K Asija, traffic advisor, Punjab, and director of Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Centre said that in a city-specific survey, it was found that only a little over 50% of the two-wheeler drivers in Ludhiana wear helmets.
He added that women dominate the group of helmet violators with only a very short percentage of them adhering to the rules.
Asija said that supporting infrastructure such as walking tracks, traffic lights, and safe crossings should be developed to save the number of people who lose their lives due to this reason.
In December last year, a 23-year-old factory worker was run down by a speeding truck on the railway overbridge in Sherpur. The deceased identified as Shyam Bahadur was on his motorcycle when a speeding truck rammed into him and his motorcycle got stuck in the rear wheels of the truck. He died on the spot succumbing to injuries, the police had said.
A 48-year-old private school teacher Urmila Bekhi was killed on December 24 last year after she was hit by a speeding truck. She met with the accident while she was crossing the NH-44 near Jodhewal Basti area.
Rahul Verma, a member of the Punjab Road Safety Council, said at most parts of the city, the footpaths have been encroached upon by vendors and shopkeepers in violation of the norms. He added that there are no overbridges for pedestrians and cyclists over the NH-44, the area around which is densely populated and hosts industrial workers.
In the recent Urban Metropolitan Transport Authority(UMTA) meeting, the National Highway Authorities were asked to work on the possibility of a cycle track between Sherpur and Dhandari, and the Ladhowal area on NH-44 for the ease of industrial workers.
Cars, trucks the main culprits
In around 42% of crashes that cause road fatalities, the impacting vehicle was either a truck, car, jeep or van. As many as 35 fatalities between 2019 and 2021 were caused by buses and 63 were caused by two-wheelers.
Out of a total of 993 road accident-related fatalities during the period, 868 were males and 130 of them were females.