UP's 'Zero Fatality' Plan: Special Teams At Every Police Station To Investigate Accidents

Despite the tightening of traffic regulations, the desired results in reducing the rising fatality rate from road accidents are not being achieved. The poor state of traffic management, from highways to major cities, also remains a cause for concern.

To establish effective control over this, the role of the district police is now being enhanced alongside the traffic police.

New Accident Investigation Teams

DGP Rajeev Krishna has planned to form a separate team of four to five police personnel in every police station specifically to investigate accidents. This team will be responsible for:

• Reviewing the causes of accidents.
• Identifying deficiencies in traffic management at the scene.
• In major accidents, examining aspects ranging from vehicle fitness to pending fines and other related issues.
• This new measure is in addition to a previous Traffic Directorate initiative where an inquiry into major road accidents was to be conducted by a CO (Circle Officer).
• The DGP has also directed that these efforts to minimise loss of life and improve traffic management be monitored at the police headquarters level.

Preventive Measures And 'Zero Fatality District' Programme

In every district, special teams will now be formed at the police station level to identify sensitive, accident-prone spots and install appropriate traffic signs.

Under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' Zero Fatality District (ZFD) programme, data from the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) for 2023 and 2024 has been analyzed. Based on this data, five police commissionerates and 15 other districts have been identified as "Accidental Death Reduction Districts."

These 20 districts are:

- Lucknow

- Kanpur Nagar

- Gautambuddha Nagar

- Agra

- Prayagraj

- Bulandshahr

- Unnao

- Hardoi

- Aligarh

- Mathura

- Bareilly

- Fatehpur

- Sitapur

- Gorakhpur

- Barabanki

- Kushinagar

- Jaunpur

- Badaun

- Firozabad

- Azamgarh

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Future Steps

Preparations are underway to form these critical teams at all police stations in the other districts as well. In the identified districts, the deployment of civil police in traffic management will also be increased, in addition to the focus on accident-prone areas.

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