1L bikers, pedestrians, cyclists died in 2021, up 42% since 2017

NEW DELHI: The number of vulnerable road users (VRUs) — motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclists — killed in crashes in 2021 touched one lakh, registering an increase of nearly 42% compared to 2017 while the number of car, truck and three-wheeler occupants dying has declined to 35,253, a drop of around 31% during the same period. The trend of rising deaths of such road users having no or minimal protection in case of a crash has highlighted why policy makers need to focus more on their safety.
Acomparative analysis of reports on “Road Accidents in India” of past five years published by the road transport ministry shows the number of motorcyclists, pedestrians and cyclists, killed in crashes has consistently gone up year after year as vehicle ownership and development of road network have increased manifold. The share of VRUs in total fatalities had increased to 67% during 2021 compared to 49. 3% in 2017. These trends are alarming considering that only a few interventions have been made for safety of VRUs in recent years.
As far as pedestrians andcyclists are concerned, lack of adequate infrastructure for their safe passage withoutmuch inconvenience has been the main reason for their increased vulnerability.