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Poor state of roads also to be blamed for accidents

Monday's incident, in which three young were killed and four were critically injured when their car fell off a flyover is a chilling reminder that road safety is one of the most critical factors in a Delhiite's life.

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Thousands die every year in road accidents in Delhi but there is no accountability as the exact reasons for these are never revealed. Police investigation into an accident seldom focuses on ascertaining the cause of the accident; the default assumption is that it was the driver's fault.

Monday's incident, in which three young were killed and four were critically injured when their car fell off a flyover is a chilling reminder that road safety is one of the most critical factors in a Delhiite's life.

Other than the criminal liability of driver's negligence or drunk driving, where the charges can be more severe, there is a road engineering and traffic management angle that also needs to be probed in accidents.

At the end of 2016, there were more than 96 lakh vehicles registered in Delhi. In addition, the city sees a sizeable daily influx of vehicles from outside the Capital. With a road length of 33,000 km, Delhi has only 864 intersections that have traffic signals and only 418 blinkers at crossings.

Many accidents take place due to these lacunae in road engineering but it is never highlighted in police investigations. Poor road design and faulty signages also contribute to crashes, but again this is never taken into account.

While the number of fatalities has come down from 2,153 in 2010 to 1,591 in 2016 the numbers are still high enough for alarm. What's more, not all of them are because of driver error.

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