Planting more trees not only saves people from toxic pollutants but also from fatal accidents, a study by a citizens’ collective, People for Road Safety, has revealed.
Data collated
The collective, which has been working towards making roads safe in the Capital, collated data from the Delhi Traffic Police and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The study found that greener stretches such as the Lutyens’ zone and parts of central and south Delhi saw fewer accidents unlike concretised stretches such as ITO and the Grand Trunk Road.
“We were reading about how several countries have been moving towards planting more trees to control accidents and wanted to see if the trend was evident here as well,” said Saurabh Jain of People for Road Safety.
He said after data of the most accident-prone stretches was collected, its landscape was noted and compared with the landscape of areas having the least number of accidents.
“We also consulted doctors to find the effects of greener landscapes on drivers. We have urbanised our cities to make them concrete jungles without realising the physical and mental damage it can do,” Mr. Jain said.
The study said greener areas have a soothing effect on drivers, relaxing them from the stress of long traffic haul. It added that constantly sitting behind the wheel and looking at vehicles, concretised roads and buildings makes drivers impatient and often aggravates chances of road rage cases.
Fatal accidents
No fatal accidents were reported last year from the New Delhi area, which is among the greenest patches in the city.
Similarly, one accident death was reported from Vasant Kunj, while the Delhi University area saw one fatality and one injury due to a crash, the Traffic Police data showed.
On the other hand, arterial roads and more urbanised stretches in the city such as the ITO crossing and the Grand Trunk Road near Shastri Park witnessed 36 accidents.
In the list of the most accident-prone stretches in the city, released by the Traffic Police in 2016, Shastri Park topped the chart with 36 accidents, of which 12 were fatal. ITO crossing witnessed 24 road accidents, of which nine were fatal.
Mexico City case
A similar observation led to massive plantation drive in Mexico City, where highway and railway pillars were turned into vertical gardens to bring down accidents. The results were surprising. Via Verde Project, also a citizen-led initiative, found that pollution levels had dipped in the most accident-prone stretches and road fatalities too had witnessed sharp decline.
Mexico has been successfully battling pollution for over a decade now. It has been brought down pollution levels to almost half as compared to the levels recorded in the 1990s.
‘Aesthetic change’
“We live in a very grey city. We have become used to that being our urban landscape. As soon as we find a green landscape, we realise our mood changes. We hope this transformation of the urban image will not only achieve an aesthetic change in the city but will also impact the mood, increase productivity and bring down stress levels,” said Via Verde Project director Ernado Ortiz Monasterio.
