More Motorcyclists Killed On National Highways In 2020 Despite Pandemic

More motorcyclists and pedestrians had died on national highways (NHs) in the 2020 pandemic year compared to 2019 while the overall deaths on such roads saw a decline of nearly 12 per cent.

There was restricted vehicular movement and public transport during 2020 amid fear of spread of coronavirus.

According to the data presented to the Lok Sabha, the number of motorcyclists killed on NHs during 2020 increased to 18,200 compared to 17,883 during the previous year.

Similarly, there was a minor increase in the number of pedestrian fatalities during the pandemic year. The number of pedestrians killed was 7,753 compared to 7,749 in 2019.

In all other categories of road users, the number of fatalities on the entire NH network was less in 2020 than the previous year.

Responding to a question on the steps that the government has taken, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said his ministry has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on education, engineering (both of roads and vehicles), enforcement and emergency care.

Pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists are categorised as the most vulnerable road users (VRUs) as they hardly have any protection in case of any crash.

Most parts of the NH stretches have no facilities for cyclists and pedestrians. There is also no segregation of motorcyclists and other slow moving vehicles on Indian highways, which results in more conflict among different categories of traffic.