Red light-jumping cause most road accidents: Police

Four people were killed every day in the national capital this year, police said, and in most cases motorists jump the red lights, leading to fatal road accidents, as was seen in union minister Gopinath Munde's death.

"During investigation, we found that most of the accidents have taken place either late nights or in morning hours," Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Shukla told IANS.

According to knowledgeable sources, Munde's driver jumped the red light and was hit by another car at a central Delhi four-point crossing at 6.20 a.m. though police did not confirm that officially. Munde died due to the impact.

Shukla said that in many road accidents, seats belts have acted as protection.

"Around 50 percent people's life are saved because they were wearing seat belts (when the accidents happened)," Shukla told IANS.

Officials said in 2013, until May 15, a total of 660 deaths were reported, while the figures for the same period this year stands at 581.

The police statistics show that until May 15 this year, the Delhi traffic police have booked 329,000 vehicles for jumping red lights as compared to 340,000 people in the corresponding period in 2013. Rs. 100 is the fine for red light jumping.

Police said they want stiffer penalties to act as an hindrance.

A total of 1,585,000 people were booked this year till May 15 for traffic violation as compared to 4,050,000 traffic violators in 2013 in the same period, as per the police data.

Officials also blame the increase in the number of road accidents to the increasing number of vehicles on the Delhi roads and motorists scant respect for traffic rules.

He said around 8.1 million vehicles are registered in Delhi, while a million car enter and exit Delhi everyday, adding to the woes.