No sidewalk on 44% of city roads, existing 26% meet standards: Report, ET Auto

<p>Inadequate pedestrian infrastructure along Indian Roads.</p>
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New Delhi: According to a report released by IIT-Delhi, around 44% of Delhi’s roads do not have pavements and only a little over a quarter of the existing roads meet the width and height standards set by the Indian Road Congress (IRC).

These details, highlighted in the India Road Safety Status Report, released on the eve of the Global Road Safety Summit to be held in Delhi on Monday, come at a time when there is much talk and discussion about how to make the national capital safer and more pedestrian-friendly.

Citing the findings of an audit conducted in Delhi this year, on the orders of the Supreme Court’s Road Safety Committee, the report mentions that compliance with mandatory helmet wearing is better on urban roads in the national capital, where over 88% of two-wheeler drivers and passengers wear helmets. However, on rural roads, around 65% of two-wheeler drivers and 31% of passengers wear helmets.

The report also mentioned the findings of a study on FIRs filed by the Delhi Police in 2019, 2021 and 2022, highlighting that nearly 44% of people killed in road accidents in the capital during these three years were pedestrians, followed by two-wheeler drivers (40%). As per the analysis, a significant 45% of vehicles involved in fatal road accidents were registered as ‘unknown’ in the FIRs, while another 18% were trucks and 14% were passenger cars.

“These details simply show that we need to set quantitative targets to reduce the risk to pedestrians and two-wheelers as an immediate priority in Delhi and other states and union territories,” said Geetam Tiwari, professor at the Transport Research and Injury Prevention Centre at IIT Delhi. Pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheelers are categorised as vulnerable road users (VRUs).

FIRs filed in 2020 were not included in the analysis as it was the pandemic year — the number of road accidents was the lowest due to traffic restrictions that year.

Road safety activists Prerna Arora Singh and Sarika Panda Bhatt asked why governments, if they can build wider highways and city roads, cannot provide safe and comfortable space for pedestrians. “Cities can be pedestrian-friendly when we provide people with safe and required space to walk,” said Bhatt, who heads Raahgiri in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Apart from Delhi, FIRs filed in five other states — Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand — were also examined to ascertain the percentage of casualties by category of road users as well as the vehicles involved in the collision.

“While reliable accident data is a prerequisite for effective safety programmes, India does not have a reliable accident surveillance system. Hence, this report presents an analysis of data extracted from FIRs… In addition, this report summarises the results of audits of states’ compliance with the Supreme Court directives to establish a sound road safety management framework, including institutional arrangements, infrastructure improvements, law enforcement measures, educational initiatives and improved medical care,” the report said.

The report found that motorcyclists are at very high risk across the country. In contrast, occupants of four-wheelers were at a much lower risk of death, but these vehicles were involved in collisions with other vehicles with high frequency. Nearly 44% of Delhi’s roads have no footpaths, and only a little over 25% of the existing ones meet the width and height standards set by the Indian Road Congress, the IIT-D report said.