To counter traffic congestion due to rapid growth of vehicular population in the city, the Delhi Traffic Police have drafted a decongestion plan, said Dependra Pathak, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic), on Thursday during the Delhi Police’s annual press conference at the Convention Centre.
He said that in the next three months, 530 refurbished motorcycles modified specially for traffic policemen will hit the city roads. The traffic policemen on these motorcycles will be armed with pepper spray, gun, taser-gun and body-fitted cameras to nail traffic offenders.
Civic agency nod
“We are also constantly working for timely implementation of integrated traffic management system in the city. We have already started using Google Maps for real time traffic management system. There are numerous road decongestion plans that will be implemented after approval from the civic agencies concerned,” said Mr. Pathak.
He added that in 2017, over six million motorists were booked by the Delhi Traffic Police and ₹94.25 crore was collected from traffic violators. Improper parking and not using seat belts were among the biggest offences, inviting 10.37 lakh and 5.93 lakh challans.
Although the number of vehicles on Delhi roads has increased by approximately 50 times between 1971 and 2017, the road length has increased only by four times, he said.
“The differential rate of increase in vehicle numbers and road length has resulted in very high vehicle density. In this scenario, traffic management and smooth flow of traffic in Delhi is a challenge as regards enforcement, regulation and sustainable traffic management,” Mr. Pathak said.
In 2016, a total of 40,25,243 persons were prosecuted for traffic violations. The number went up to 60,10,772 this year. Over 10 lakh bikers and 4.73 pillion riders were also issued tickets for not wearing helmets.
Choke points
A total of 30,301 persons were also booked for drunken driving, he said. Struggling with traffic congestion, 28 major congestion corridors were taken up on priority for removal of congestion through redesigning choke points, regulation and manual interventions like removal of vehicles.
Over 45,000 challans were issued and 2,726 vehicles impounded in joint drives by the traffic police and other agencies. Over the course of last year, Delhi witnessed fewer fatalities on its roads as compared to 2016.
In 2016, 1,548 fatal accidents were reported in which 1,591 lives were lost. In 2017, the number of such accidents was 1,474, killing 1,505 people, he added.
