Ahmedabad: How grim can road accident facts be for Ahmedabad? Ninety-five calls a day from across the district — the highest in Gujarat — and one ambulance dispatched every 15 minutes to attend to an accident victim. From Jan 1 to Nov 12 this year, EMRI 108 services received a worrisome 29,971 calls about road accident emergencies. Data based on ambulance locations also shows that five of Ahmedabad city’s top 10 accident hot spots are either on or around SG Highway.Also, what happens after the sirens stop? Doctors and road safety experts say that behind the cold numbers are families grappling with loss of a dear one, life-altering injuries, disabilities, specialised care that can drain finances, loss of income and the struggle to get back to normal life.World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is observed globally on the third Sunday of every Nov to acknowledge victims of road traffic injuries and their families. And, with the 2026 theme being ‘Remember. Support. Act’, the role of responders and what they face daily also comes to the fore. EMRI 108 services responded to 1.99 lakh road accident calls across Gujarat till Nov 12; about 15% of these were from Ahmedabad district alone.The pattern of emergencies is clustered. In Ahmedabad city, Bodakdev topped with 556 calls, followed by Bopal with 505 calls, Gota (490), Vaishnodevi Circle (476) and IIM Crossroads (466). The locations, however, should not be read as exact crash sites, say EMRI officials. They reflect the spot from where ambulances were dispatched to attend to an accident, officials say, adding that each ambulance in an urban area caters to a 2km-5km radius.Even within these clusters, the distribution shifts year to year — an indication that risk moves with traffic flows, development and rule enforcement. In 2025, Prahladnagar recorded the highest number of road traffic accidents.In 2026, Bodakdev held this dubious distinction. In the top five, Vaishnodevi Circle replaced Bopal and IIM Crossroads nudged out Navrangpura from last year, showing a slight change in patterns.Dr Pravin Kanabar, mentor, Ahmedabad Traffic Consultative Committee (ATCC), said India records 59 crashes and 21 deaths on the roads every hour. “One accident takes seconds – both to happen or prevent. But that one accident could have implications for a person for the rest of his or her life. It is not just the person; the entire family suffers the impact. Today, let’s take a pledge to make our city roads safer for everyone,” he said.While reports such as Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) put over-speeding as the dominant cause of deaths in cities like Ahmedabad, experts argue that prevention and survival depend on multiple systems working together.“Road safety starts with road engineering, driver education and authority enforcement — traditionally called the 3Es. Add another E, which stands for emergency, and you get responders to reduce fatality. In the age of fast vehicles and shrinking space for other road users, the need of the hour is a balanced approach on what kind of city we want for our future generations,” said another expert.Hospitals see the most severe end of this spectrum. Dr Sanjay Shah, trauma specialist at Apollo Hospital, cited a recent case to underline the brutality of high-impact collisions. “The victim was a youth. His heart and lungs were affected and it was several weeks before he could be stabilised. It is unfortunate that the majority of the victims are young or in the earning age. Any long-term health condition affects their potential,” he said.
