Mohali, March 24 -- The district has 93 black spots associated with frequent accidents and fatalities, according to a study by the Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre for 2022-24. This marks a slight increase from the previous study, which had recorded 92 such accident-prone locations. A black spot is defined as a stretch of about 500 metres or a specific junction where repeated serious accidents have occurred over a defined period. As per guidelines of the Union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH), a location is classified as a black spot if it records at least five road accidents involving fatalities or grievous injuries within the last three calendar years, or if 10 fatalities have occurred during the same period. A large number of these black spots lie along national highways (NHs), including NH-152 and NH-7, with more than 10 identified on the airport road alone. Zirakpur has the highest concentration at 15, followed by Kharar and Sohana with 12 each, and Lalru 10. The latest addition is near the government dispensary at Majat market in Kharar, where 16 fatalities have been recorded during the period. Among these locations, the Dau Majra turn on NH-205, which falls in Kharar, has recorded the highest number of fatalities at 28, followed by 26 at the Barwala turn in Derabassi and 18 at ITI Chowk of Lalru. A visit to the stretch outside Amayra City Centre on NH-205A highlights significant safety risks, with no visible zebra crossings, pedestrian islands or foot overbridges. Pedestrians have to wait at the divider and cross multiple lanes by estimating traffic gaps. The area also features an unsignalised merging point between a service road and the highway, creating dangerous interactions between fast- and slow-moving vehicles. Road safety and traffic expert Harman Sidhu said road safety audits at the design stage are not being implemented effectively. "These are either not done properly or their findings are ignored. People often take the wrong side to access the highway, which increases the risk," he said. According to Navdeep Asija, director of the Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre, Mohali, most black spots are located on national highways and are largely the result of engineering faults. He pointed to issues such as improper road design, lack of traffic calming measures and unsafe merging points. Kamaljeet Soi, member of the National Road Safety Council, said, "Instead of reduction in black spots, new ones are surfacing. This shows delays in corrective measures and weak monitoring." Meanwhile, the traffic safety committee in Mohali said corrective work was underway. Rohit Garg, assistant transport officer, said more than 45 black spots have already been rectified. "The impact of these measures will be visible in the next set of data," he added. When contacted, DSP (Traffic) Karnail Singh said that the recommendations are forwarded to the road safety committee whenever accident-prone spots are identified. "Based on that, corrective measures are taken, such as installing proper signage, developing missing road infrastructure and constructing dividers wherever required. In Mohali, road widening is also being carried out at several such locations to improve traffic flow and reduce the chances of accidents," he added....