TRAFFIC ENVIRONMENT OF DELHI
Prema Gera
The worsening traffic congestion and
deteriorating safety conditions on Delhi roads projects a grim profile of the
capital city. The number of vehicles on Delhi roads has increased
substantially in recent years. Some of the major corridors are carrying more
than a lakh vehicles a day. As a result, both travel time and the number of
road accidents in Delhi have registered and increasing trend. A recent study
by Transport Planners Association (TPA), New Delhi “Travel Time and Delay
Study on Existing Road Network of Delhi Urban Area” points out some of the
major causes of Delhi’s alarming traffic environment. They are:
Mixed Traffic: A typical road in
Delhi is characterised by mixed traffic including human powered vehicles,
animal driven carts and motorized vehicles. This poses problems for traffic
management and leads to inordinate delays in traffic movement.
Increase in Population,
Vehicles and Road Length:
During 1981-91, the average annual growth rate
of urban population in the Delhi Urban Area (DUA) has been 3.91. At present
the total workforce in the city, including the floating workers, is more than
one-third of the total population. The number of registered vehicles in Delhi
has increased from 5.7 lakhs in 1981 to 21.2 lakhs in May 1993, a rate of
13.12% per annum.
In contrast, the road length in
Delhi has increased at the rate of 4.53% per annum. The road density is
approximately 155 km per 100,000 population and is accommodating about 80
vehicles per kilometer. The fringe area in Delhi, which is under-developed
and sparsely populated, has the maximum share of absolute road length (34%)
while Trans-Yamuna, with one-fourth of the population, has only 14% of
absolute road length.
Inadequate Public Transport
System:
Because the provision of transport infrastructure has not kept
pace with the demand for transport services, more and more people are
depending on private vehicles for commuting between their work-place and home.
The figure clearly shows that the number of private vehicles, especially
two-wheelers, has grown tremendously. People have been forced to go in for
private vehicles and this has resulted in increased congestion on the roads.
Besides congestion, these
inadequacies in public transport have resulted in delays and consequent
reduction in speed and finally a high rate of road traffic fatalities, making
driving and travelling conditions in Delhi highly unsafe.
Travel Time and Delay: The
study by TPA reveals an alarming picture for the Walled City. More than 30%
of the roads in that area have speeds of less than ten kms/hr. The reasons
are high intensity of vehicular traffic, further cramped with encroachments on
roads and foot paths. In Connaught Place, despite having more than four
lanes, the speed is observed to be in the range of 20-25 km/h. At the intersections in Delhi, the
cycle time ranges between 120-180 seconds. The high cycle time leads to long
queues, especially in the peak hours.
Road Accidents:
The total
accidents have gone up from 4384 in 1981 to 7697 in 1990, an increase of 6.55%
per annum, the highest accident rate in India and third-highest in the world.
At the Centre for Biomedical
Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, Dr. Dinesh Mohan has
researched extensively on the nature and causes of road traffic injuries in
Delhi. About 75% of road accident victims in Delhi are pedestrians,
bicyclists and motorcyclists, termed as vulnerable road users (VRUs). In
about two-thirds of these accidents, trucks and buses have been involved. In
addition, there has been a growth in the number of locally designed three and
four wheeled vehicles like ‘tempos’ and trailers pulled by tractors which do
not conform to safety standards.
Measures Recommended for Road
Safety: Dr. Dinesh Mohan focuses on improvements in vehicle design and
measures for pedestrian safety. Some of the important measures include:
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Non-motorised vehicles like bicycles
and rickshaws need to have better braking abilities and their conspicuity,
especially at night, needs to be improved with reflectors. |
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The fronts of buses and trucks need
to be made “softer” so that the impact forces in a bus-pedestrian crash can be
reduced |
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For the locally-manufactured
vehicles mentioned earlier, the body needs to be designed in manner which
restricts passenger ejection from vehicles and provides impact absorbing
padding in areas where passengers are likely to be hit during a crash. |
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For motorised two wheelers, use of
helmets and of orange and yellow vests by riders needs to be made compulsory.
Engines larger than 150 cc should be discouraged because studies reveal that
riders of higher powered motor-cycles tend to sustain more severe injuries
during crashes. |
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For the safety of pedestrians, road
design consideration need to include pedestrian flow rates so that facilities
can be provided accordingly. Speed-breakers on both sides of a pedestrian
crossing area are necessary as it has been found that vehicles at “zebra
crossings” generally do not give way to pedestrians. |
To address the traffic and
transport problems of Delhi and to sustain the present mobility levels, TPA
has proposed the concept of “an integrated transport system with surface,
elevated and underground high capacity rail system along with integrated bus
feeder system.”
In view of the deteriorating road
environment, “The Delhi Declaration on the Safety of Vulnerable Road Users”,
was adopted at the International Conference on Traffic Safety held in New
Delhi in January 1991. It emphasises the following principles:
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encouraging walking and
bicycling |
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designing well-maintained
public transport system |
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enforcing lower speeds for
motor vehicles |
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designing roads to control
speeds and to separate road users of different sizes, weights and velocities |
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promoting traffic safety
through education, enforcement and advertising |
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introducing improvements in
vehicle design |
These are the minimum steps needed
to allow traffic to move somewhat safely in Delhi. The effectiveness of such
declarations and principles however, depends to a great extent on education of
road users, effectiveness of safety advertising and enforcement of laws.
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