ROAD SAFETY ISSUES IN CHANDIGARH

Abstract: This study investigates road safety issues and traffic management strategies in
Chandigarh, India. Utilizing quantitative methodologies, the research aims to identify prevalent
factors contributing to road accidents and assess the effectiveness of existing safety measures. Data
will be collected through surveys, interviews, and analysis of accident records. The study seeks to
provide detail data which can be helpful for recommendations for improving road safety
infrastructure, enforcement of traffic regulations, and public awareness campaigns. By examining
the unique urban landscape of Chandigarh, this research endeavours to contribute to the
development of evidence-based strategies for reducing road accidents and enhancing overall safety
for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists in the city.

1. Introduction
Chandigarh, known for its urban planning and architectural quality, illustrates modern urban living.
However, behind its well-organized streets and well-hides infrastructure lurks a serious concern:
road safety. As the city grows and its population increases, the task of guaranteeing safe mobility
becomes more critical. There are numerous compelling reasons why road safety is so important in
major cities like Chandigarh. As a busy metropolis, Chandigarh has a steady stream of traffic, which
includes commuters, pedestrians, and cars of all sorts. The heavily packed streets necessitate strict
adherence to traffic restrictions and infrastructure designed for safe passage. Furthermore,
Chandigarh's reputation as a cultural and commercial hub emphasizes the crucial need for road
safety, because any interruptions caused by accidents can reverberate through the city's
socioeconomic fabric.
This report aims to examine road safety in Chandigarh and the recommend solutions that decreases
the overall impact of collisions ensuring road safety of the road users of inhabitants and provides a
suitable atmosphere for economic activity, tourism, and general urban growth in Chandigarh.

2. Road Infrastructure Analysis

Mr. Le Corbusier planned Chandigarh's master plan as analogous to a human body, with a clearly
defined head (the Capitol Complex, Sector 1), heart (the City Centre, Sector-17), lungs (the leisure
valley, numerous open spaces and sector greens), intellect (the cultural and educational institutions),
circulatory system (the network of roads, the 7Vs), and viscera (the Industrial Area). The city's idea
is built on four fundamental functions: living, working, physical and spiritual care, and circulation.
The residential sectors make up the living part, while the Capitol Complex, City Centre, Educational
Zone (Post Graduate Institute, Punjab Engineering College, Panjab University), and Industrial Area
make up the working component. The Leisure Valley, Gardens, Sector Greens, and Open
Courtyards, among others, are designed to care for both the body and the spirit. The circulation
system consists of seven different types of roadways, known as 7Vs. Later, a track for bikes known
as V8 was added to the circulation system.
The network spans 2184.7 kilometres. The NH-5 passes through the city for 15.3 kilometres in total.
The city's entire cycle track length is 225 km. The city layout was built on a grid system with seven
varieties of roadways, known as 7 Vs.V1 roads are rapid, whereas V2 roads are arterial. Chandigarh
Police Administration is organized into five zones: Central, East, North East, South, and South
West, with a total of 16 police stations. Traffic police have four zones: Central, East, South East,
and South West.
 Table 1 Chandigarh Road Network Distribution

Roads Length (km)

Road under Municipal Corporation 1850
Road under UT Administration 319.4
National highway 5 ( maintained by UT Administration ) 15.3
Total Road network length 2184.7
Total Cycle track length in Chandigarh 225
Total Road length with Cycle track 2409.7

Table 2 HIERARCHICAL ROAD NETWORK OF 7V’S IN CHANDIGARH

Type Name Function

V1 Arterial Roads Roads connecting Chandigarh to other states.
V2 Major Boulevards Road connecting major avenues of Chandigarh, with
important Institutional and Commercial belts.
V3 Sector Definers Roads between sectors.
V4 Shopping Streets Shopping streets cutting through sectors
V5 Neighbourhood streetsCirculation roads with in sectors
V6 Access Roads Roads providing access to houses
V7 Pedestrian Paths Footpaths through green belts
V8* Cycle Paths Track/ Lane for cyclists
*V8 Road Network has emerged in Chandigarh as track for cyclists, whose basic
function is to give accessibility to cyclists and promote cycling across the city.

Figure 1 Roads under MC and UT

 Figure 2 Road Network map of Chandigarh (Source - Chandigarh Administration)

3. Motor Vehicle Registration

In 2022, the total number of registered automobiles in Chandigarh was 52,996. The bulk of vehicles
(54.2%) are LMVs, followed by two-wheelers (40%), buses, three-wheelers, taxis, e-rickshaws,
commercial vehicles, goods Vehicles and others (6%). (Figure 1.6)..

Vehicles No
Total number of registered Vehicles 52996
Number of LMVs (car) 28724
Number of two wheelers 21198
Others (Buses 3 Wheelers, Taxis E Rickshaw, Commercial vehicles,
3074
Goods vehicles etc.)

Figure 3 Vehicle Registration data for 2022

 Number of Vehicle
Year
Registerd
2012 51259
2013 45013
2014 46255
2015 45781
2016 42804
2017 46687
2018 46849
2019 42616
2020 29518
2021 36867
2022 52996
Figure 4 Yearly Trend of Registered Vehicles in Chandigarh

In 2022, the number of registered cars increased by 16129 from 36867 in 2021.

4. Population-Vehicle Growth
In 2022, Chandigarh's people and vehicular populations were 12,58,019 and 13,24,620,
respectively. Since 2012, Chandigarh's population has grown dramatically, as have the number of
automobiles on the city's roads.

Total Vehicle
Year Total Population
Registerd
2012 1072781 883653
2013 1082365 929113
2014 1092355 975657
2015 1102352 1021940
2016 1116250 1069087
2017 1122528 1115774
2018 1128806 1162623
2019 1135084 1205239
2020 1158491 1234757
2021 1178417 1271624
2022 1258019 1324620
Table 3 Yearly Population and Vehicular Growth Data in Chandigarh
 Figure 5 Population and Vehicular Growth Trend in Chandigarh

The population increased from 10,72,721 in 2012 to 12,58,019 in 2022, while the number of
registered cars increased from 8,83,653 in 2012 to 13,24,620 in 2022. This unplanned expansion
has created delays and congestion on Chandigarh's roads, resulting in an increase in the frequency
of traffic crashes.

5. Road Fatalities & Crashes Trend

Year Death Injured fatal Crashes Non fatal Crashes Total Crashes
2013 117 335 114 296 410
2014 131 335 124 245 369
2015 129 331 124 292 416
2016 151 329 144 284 428
2017 107 302 103 239 342
2018 98 300 97 219 316
2019 104 275 100 205 305
2020 53 148 50 109 159
2021 114 172 94 96 208
2022 83 203 79 158 237

450 428
410 416

400 369
335 335 331 342
350 329
316 305
296 292 302 300
284 275
300 Death
Accident Data

245 239 237

250 219 Injured
205 208 203
172 fatal Crashes
200 159 158
151
144 148
131 129 Non fatal Crashes
150 117
114 124 124 114
107
103 98 104
100 109
97 96
94 Total Crashes
83
79
100
53
50
50

0
2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Year
Figure 6 Accident Data from 2013 to 2022

The number of traffic crashes in Chandigarh has decreased in 2022. The number of traffic collisions
in Utah has decreased significantly, from 410 in 2013 to 237 in 2022. Also the number of fatalities
in road collisions in Chandigarh has decreased from 117 in 2013 to 83 in 2022.
The number of people injured has similarly decreased, from 335 in 2013 to 203 in 2022. The
reduction in fatal collisions from 114 to 83 between 2013 and 2022 is a significant achievement.
Similarly, non-fatal collisions decreased from 296 to 158 between 2013 and 2022.
In 2022, Chandigarh saw 237 traffic collisions, with 79 fatalities (38%), 14 serious (7%), and 113
minors (55%).In Chandigarh, 286 people were engaged in traffic collisions, including 83 fatalities
(29%), 18 of whom were severely injured and wounded (6%), with 185 children injured (65%).

Year Crashes Fatal FIR NonFatal FIR Minor Cases

2022 12604 79 158 113
2021 10285 94 114 92
2020 8240 50 109 81
2019 15794 100 205 -
2018 18143 97 219 -
2017 16502 103 239 9077
2016 17662 144 284 7422
2015 17151 124 292 6792
2014 15692 124 245 6325
2013 16107 114 296 4756

Figure 8 Accident data distribution for 2013 to 2022

MoterVehicle Fatal Road Road Fatalities/ 1 Road Fatalities/

Year Popularion Total Crashes * Crash Severity
Registered Crashes Fatalities/Year Lakh Population 10000 Vehicles

2013 1082365 929113 410 114 117 10.81 1.26 28.54

2014 1092355 975657 369 124 131 11.99 1.34 35.5
2015 1102352 1021940 416 124 129 11.7 1.26 31.01
2016 1116250 1069087 428 144 151 13.53 1.41 35.28
2017 1122528 1115774 342 103 107 9.53 0.96 31.29
2018 1128806 1162623 316 97 98 8.68 0.84 31.01
2019 1135084 1205239 305 100 104 9.16 0.86 34.1
2020 1158491 1234757 159 50 53 4.57 0.43 33.33
2021 1178417 1271624 208 94 96 8.15 0.75 46.15
2022 1258019 1324620 237 79 83 6.6 0.63 35.02

Figure 7 Crash Severity Trend

The crash severity score grew from 28.54 in 2013 to 35.02 in 2022. In 2022, the fatality rate from
road collisions was 0.63 per 10,000 motor vehicles. Down from 1.26 in 2013. In 2022, the
percentage of fatalities from road collisions per 1 lakh inhabitants in Chandigarh was 6.60, down
from 10.81 in 2013.

6. Genesis of Road Fatalities

A vehicle's speed impacts the severity of personal injuries after an accident. In 2022, 55 road
collisions and 59 fatalities were attributed to over speeding, 8 to drunken driving, and 4 to red
light jumping. Following table shows the data related to the crash caused due to various the traffic
violations.
 Number of Accidents Number of Persons
Type of Traffic
Grievous Grievously
Violations Fatal Minor Injury Non Injury Fatalities Minor Injury
Injury Injured
Over-Speeding 55 11 95 25 59 14 142
Drunken Driving/
Consumption of alcohol 8 0 11 5 8 0 24
& drug
Driving on Wrong side 3 1 0 0 3 1 5
Jumping Red Light 4 2 3 0 4 3 6
Use of Mobile Phone 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Others 9 0 4 1 9 0 8
Total 79 14 113 31 83 18 185

Figure 9 Data of the violations that cause accident

As per the above data it can be concluded that over speeding is the main cause of accident and the
deaths in year 2022 for road crashes in Chandigarh.

Figure 10 Fatal road crashes in Chandigarh in 2022

Figure 11 Non-fatal accident in Chandigarh in 2022

Classification of Major traffic Violators
Offence Year 2020 Year 2021 Year 2022
Without Helmet 19739 14103 45994
Triple Riding 1359 972 1710
U-Turn prohibited 16491 21294 5980
Without Seatbelt 6632 15000 10251
Wrong Side Turn 1495 1746 2346
Wrong Parking 9460 20566 35792
Wrong Stopping 678 136 3849
Violation of Road/Sign -
Stop/Give away/No Entry/One 2346 547 5570
way Entry etc
Zebra Crossing 55255 38180 67866
Red Light Jumping 2615 4097 180659
Using Mobile Phone 1668 1901 1491
Dangerous Driving 180 146 386
Over-speeding 32497 64132 186971
Drunken Driving 317 0 166
Using Black Film/Curtain 3853 5668 730
Cycle Track/Footpaths 578 2565 6924
Without Number Plate 376 371 2903
No. Plate not-specific 2612 9109 5546
Non-Functional Silencer 306 262 162
Using Pressure/Multitoned Horns 343 851 275
TSR/Taxi Without Fare Meter 234 157 91
TSR/Taxi/Bus Driver Without
2131 309 1743
Uniform
Minor Driving Without D/L 62 29 34
Misc offence 47549 40701 35015
TOTAL 208776 242842 602454