Bikers, pedestrians biggest victims of road accident fatalities in Delhi

Bikers and pedestrians were the biggest victims of road accidents in Delhi in 2022. The Delhi Police has released road accident data for last year, which shows that about eight people out of 10 who died in road accidents in the national capital last year were either two-wheeler riders or pedestrians. Most of the fatalities were victims aged 40 years or above. Nine out of 10 people killed in road accidents in Delhi last year were men.

The road accident data shared by Delhi Police shows how pedestrians and two-wheeler riders were most vulnerable in case of a road crash. The data says that 43 per cent of road accident fatalities last year were pedestrians, while motorcyclist victims were 38 per cent of the overall deaths. 629 pedestrians were killed and 1,777 injured in road accidents in Delhi in 2022. The report revealed that two-wheeler riders were victims in one of every three deaths or injuries. Motorcyclists accounted for 552 deaths among victims of road accidents in Delhi in 2022, while 2,263 were injured. People aged 40 years or above were the biggest victims. Men in the 19-30 age group was highest in terms of people injured in such incidents.

Delhi Police, in its report, said that some of the major causes of road accidents in the city include improper road curvature, line of sight not being visible, lack of standard speed calming measures, improper illumination, non-standard road shoulders and improper signages. A senior official at Delhi Police said, “To tackle road accidents, Delhi Traffic Police has implemented various measures, including addressing reckless and drunk driving, establishing an effective enforcement mechanism, conducting real-time data analysis, enhancing driver education and training programmes, utilising modern technology, and collaborating with various stakeholders to improve road engineering issues."

According to a report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), India recorded a total of 4,61,312 road mishaps last year. The number of people killed due to these accidents has gone up to 1,68,491. Nearly 4.45 lakh people were also injured in these road accidents. Overspeeding remains the biggest killer on Indian roads. This has caused nearly 75 per cent of the accidents that have taken place in 2022. Wrong-side driving is also one of the biggest reasons behind increasing cases of road mishaps, contributing about six per cent. Drunken driving and usage of phones while driving are the two other big reasons, contributing more than four per cent of road accidents in India.