The Traffic Police has claimed that the Capital’s streets were the safest in close to a decade this Holi owing to a massive enforcement-cum-prosecution drive.
Senior officers claimed that while the number of fatal accidents reported on the festival was lowest since 2007, the total number of prosecutions — 11,492 — was a feat in itself.
“We believe we will be able to add to the total number of prosecutions over the coming days. More vehicles will be prosecuted on the basis of photographs and videos taken by our personnel, as well as those made available to us by the general public,” said Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander.
Persons being prosecuted on the basis of pictorial evidence will be served their respective fines at their doorstep over the rest of the month. The Traffic Police had deployed as many as 200 teams across the Capital on Friday and credited them for the lowest number of fatal accidents — eight (in which as many drivers lost their lives) — in the city on the day of Holi.
According to the Traffic Police, 11 fatal accidents were reported on Holi in 2014; 14 in 2013; 13 in 2012; 11 in 2011 and 15 in 2010. The largest number of casualties on Holi was reported in 2006, when 22 people died in 20 accidents.
Meanwhile, over 1,500 prosecutions pertaining solely to drunk driving and confiscation of close to 1,000 vehicles constituted the total number of prosecutions by the police on Friday.
Of the total 11,492 prosecutions made by the traffic police, 1,569 were for drunken driving, including 336 prosecutions of registered vehicle owners who allowed their vehicles to be driven by drunk drivers. While just seven of these drunk drivers were driving trucks, as many as 909 were two-wheeler riders and 36 were found driving auto-rickshaws. A total of 923 vehicles were impounded during the drive.
In addition, the Traffic Police said, 787 persons were prosecuted for jumping red lights, 249 for improper parking, 192 for dangerous driving, 898 for over-speeding, 787 for triple riding, 954 for riding without helmet, 41 for not using seat belts, and 41 for not having a valid driving licence.
