By 2023, every fifth road death will be a pedestrian – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Every fifth death in road accidents was a pedestrian and 45% of all fatalities were people riding two-wheelers by 2023. In a first official statement, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Saturday that “more than 1, 72 lakh people died” by 2023. Last year there were road accidents, of which around 35,000 were pedestrians.
Addressing an event in Lucknow, the minister said nearly five lakh accidents are recorded every year and last year, around 10,000 of the deaths were under the age of 18 and around 35,000 road accidents were reported in areas outside schools and colleges (institutional areas). “Around 54,000 deaths were due to two-wheeler riders not wearing helmets, 16,000 died due to not wearing seat belt and 12,000 died due to overloading of vehicles. About 34,000 accidents have been caused by drivers without a valid driver’s license,” the minister said.
Neither the Ministry of Road Transport nor the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) have released the reports of road fatalities and fatalities from last year. TOI had first reported on October 19 how 2023 recorded the maximum number of road deaths (nearly 1.73 lakh), with Uttar Pradesh topping the list among states and UTs, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Gadkari said that the highest number of road deaths in the world occurs in India and out of this, the maximum number of deaths are recorded in UP. “There were 44,000 road accidents in UP and 23,650 people lost their lives. Of these, 1,800 deaths are among those under the age of 18 and 10,000 among pedestrians and two-wheeler riders. There were 8,726 deaths due to speeding in UP,” he added.
The minister said the number of road accidents is increasing despite efforts to minimize them because people have no respect or fear for the law. “There are many reasons for accidents, but the biggest reason is human behavior. It is also true that there are potholes in the roads, there are not enough underpasses and there are not enough pedestrian bridges. We have identified the black spots and they are being addressed on the National Highway by spending around Rs 40,000 crore. There are many national highways and district roads. It also concerns the state governments. The cause of the accidents can be found and remedied,” Gadkari said.
On the rising pedestrian deaths, road safety expert Rohit Baluja said, “The one important factor missing in our road development and traffic management is traffic engineering. We make roads, but we don’t manage them and pedestrians have no sense of safety. The authorities must understand that the habits of road users are formed based on traffic engineering.”
Responding to questions from students on the need for a mandatory curriculum on road safety in schools, the minister said they are trying to ensure that the state governments implement “Route Rules”. Former International Road Federation chief KK Kapila welcomed the move, saying: “We have proposed this to the government. By making children aware of traffic rules and safe behavior, traffic fatalities can be controlled.