Police, Google Maps come together to mark Delhi's deadliest roads as ‘black spots’

In an effort to identify and mark the city's most dangerous roads, the Delhi Traffic Police is preparing a plan to mark the capital's most accident-prone zones and roads on Google Maps, termed as the ‘Black spots’. This will give drivers real-time warnings as they approach them.

A black spot is a central point where accidents have occurred repeatedly within a 500-metre radius on both sides.

This potentially life-saving initiative is expected to go live in 2025, and aims to blend road safety with technology by integrating years of accident data into a Google tool.

Under this, drivers will be alerted through Google Maps when nearing these high-risk crash zones.

The planning for this initiative is ongoing, and includes marking the black spot locations and coordinating with road-owning agencies to improve signage, road designs, and strategic deployment of personnel. The goal is to make Delhi's roads safer and more secure.

"If a particular stretch sees frequent accidents, the midpoint of that stretch is categorized as a black spot," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic Headquarters) Shive Keshari Singh said.

"We are tying up with Google, and internal procedures are in progress," Singh mentioned. "If and when it goes live this year, the map will carry the 2024 black spots first. The idea is to give timely information so commuters stay alert, their drive becomes easier and safer and reduces the number of fatalities."