LUCKNOW, Sept. 8 -- Road accidents, fatalities and injuries at locations covered under Uttar Pradesh's Zero Fatality District (ZFD) programme declined during the first eight months of 2026, according to data shared at a road-safety workshop in Lucknow on Monday. Between January and August, accidents at ZFD-covered locations fell by 6.97%, fatalities by 8.03% and injuries by 6.11%, officials said. The figures were discussed at a workshop organised by the UP traffic directorate at police headquarters for officers heading 228 Critical Corridor (CC) teams and ZFD nodal officers. The teams have been constituted to work on 213 identified accident-prone locations across 59 districts under the third and fourth phases of the ZFD programme. Addressing the workshop, UP director general of police Rajeev Krishna said road crashes should not be treated as random incidents and directed teams to scientifically identify their causes and work toward preventing them. The DGP asked CC team in-charges to identify accident-prone spots and factors contributing to crashes and take preventive and enforcement measures in "mission mode". He also directed teams to coordinate with concerned departments on road engineering and other remedial measures, follow up on pending issues and escalate them where necessary. "Preventing accidents is the primary responsibility of the CC teams and their mandate is not limited to post-accident procedures," officials quoted the DGP as saying. Krishna said every crash should be analysed to identify systemic deficiencies and measures to prevent similar incidents. Participants were trained in road safety, the Motor Vehicles Act, accident investigation, iRAD/eDAR, black-spot identification, first aid and CPR. The DGP said the performance of CC teams would be considered while assessing police officers' competence and future career progression....