Punjab has become the first Indian state to comprehensively map all 784 accident-prone areas as 'black spots' on the navigation system Mappls app. The announcement was made by Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on January 1, 2024.

Navigation system Mappls App developed by MapMyIndia.
This initiative has been launched as part of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann's flagship project, 'Road Safety Force'.

How will the Mappls app work?

The app provides voice alerts in Punjabi, warning passengers about upcoming black spots.
Passengers will get this alert even before the black spot is 100 meters away.
It aims to enhance road safety by alerting drivers in advance by using the Mappls App, a 100% indigenous app designed for Indian roads.

Punjab Road Safety Force:

'Road Safety Force' is a collaborative effort between Punjab Police and MapmyIndia.
This force has been entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring reckless driving, ensuring smooth movement of vehicles on the roads and other tasks.
1,300 policemen will be recruited in the first phase.
Initially 144 vehicles were launched for the force, of which 116 are Isuzu vehicles and 28 are SUVs equipped with speed radar.
Each vehicle included in the road safety force will cover an area of 30 kilometres.

Global State of Road Safety 2023:

Recently, the World Health Organization released a report titled Global State of Road Safety 2023. The report presents important findings and insights into road traffic deaths and safety measures around the world.

What are the main points of the report?

According to the report, 28% of global road traffic deaths occurred in the Southeast Asia region, 25% in the Western Pacific region, 19% in the African region, 12% in the Americas region, 11% in the Eastern Mediterranean region and 5% in the European region.
There has been a 5% decline in road accident deaths worldwide between 2010 and 2021, meaning the total number of deaths during this one year is 1.19 million.
Whereas in India, its death rate has seen an increase of 15%, which has increased from 1.34 lakh in the year 2010 to 1.54 lakh in the year 2021.
108 UN member countries have recorded declining deaths due to road accidents during this period.
Ten countries succeeded in reducing road traffic deaths by more than 50% – Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Denmark, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Russian Federation, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.
Thirty-five more countries made significant progress, reducing road traffic deaths by 30% to 50%.

The following are the number of deaths by vehicle globally:

People riding four-wheelers – 30% deaths
Pedestrians – 23% deaths
Two-wheeler and three-wheeler users – 21% deaths
Cyclists -6% deaths
Users of micro-mobility devices, including e-scooters – 3% of deaths