'Pedestrian fatalities in India exceed EU and Japan combined'

Nearly 99 per cent of pedestrians in India are at risk of injuries in road accidents, with as many as 60,000 pedestrian injuries and nearly 29,200 fatalities recorded in 2021 alone, according to a report recently released by Bosch Limited.

In observance of the 7th UN Global Road Safety Week, the German engineering and technology company released India’s first comprehensive study on pedestrian accidents in the country on Monday.

The report analysed 6,300 cases in the accident database compiled by the Road Accident Sampling System for India (RASSI), an Indian initiative that collects in-depth road accident data.

According to the study, pedestrians accounted for about 1 in 10 traffic fatalities, making pedestrian crashes a major concern. India witnessed nearly 29,200 pedestrian fatalities in 2021, surpassing the combined road fatalities of the entire European Union and Japan.

The report revealed that 90 pedestrians do not return home, and approximately 165 pedestrians are hospitalised with injuries of varying severity every day.

Nearly 56 per cent of all pedestrian accidents in the country occur on rural roads, where every second pedestrian accident results in a fatality. In comparison, roads in urban and semi-urban areas have a relatively lower risk of fatalities, presumably due to a high volume of vehicles.

About 57 per cent of the accidents occur during the day, challenging the assumption that the risk of accidents is higher at night.

The report also highlighted how human error is a leading contributor to pedestrian accidents, followed by infrastructure and vehicle-related factors. The study also noted that pedestrians’ habit of stopping in the middle of the road to allow vehicles to pass is unique to India, unlike in other countries where drivers pause and wait for pedestrians to cross.

The study concluded that a holistic safety approach is required to address the issue of pedestrian accidents.