[sabnavis]

My two pieces on the subject.. having moved to Delhi just about three years ago.. the raods here felt amazing, never ever and no other part of india has such wide roads.. but .. but there is a huge under current of agression, lack of patience... my car is bigger than your car and a scratch on my car is nothing but an extreme extreme insult the kind that deserves that i get down and beat you into pulp.

Each day there is news of a drunk driver killing self and innocent someone else, but no cops near where the pubs are.. and just for kicks for the rest of the nation, people here take great pride in turning their cars into bars... families are not open enough to let these men drink at home so they buy their whisky and soda and risk the lives of every one else.

And the licensing is to lax, getting a license to drive is by far the easiest thing to do.. God help Delhi..

[indian21r]

Originally Posted by C300

Agree with most of the posts here.
In addition to overall discipline, IMO one of the key factors contributing to the fatalities is the sheer diversity of vehicles using our roads. From a bullock cart to a Bentley, all of them use the same tarmac. Nowhere else in the world will you see such diversity. Accidents are bound to happen when vehicles of varying speed use the same road.

Exactly one of the main reason why a lot of accidents happen on Indian roads. This has infact worsened after the expansion of Highways without proper service lanes for slow moving traffic. I used to do regularly from Pune to Bhor on Nh4, we had close shaves close to 4 times in a span of 5 months following the speed limits. Add to this vehicles coming from opposite direction to save fuel. I see Multi axle trucks also doing this .

We need to increase the awareness to tackle this drastic scenario

[apachelongbow]

What's so surprising in India topping the world's list of fatalities and accidents? We are good at topping all the unwanted lists anyway. As is we like to drive as if its our own father's roads, same case with idiotic road crossing morons and pedestrians. Honestly a street dog has better road sense than most of the Indian pedestrians. Unless as a nation we stop thinking 'I, me, myself' always, we shall continue to be world toppers in this area.

[Mindgrinder]

the reason is most Indian state govt and cops just look at solving present problem of traffic and chaos not like the west where they implement something that would be useful in future, for example slow traffic on Indian roads should be on left. However, its on right most of the times. Slow CNG autos cause chaos and slow traffic, cycle rickshaw on the same roads as cars and also regular autos are a menace. Regular autos should be moved to Nano's or Iris so that they are in same league as slow cars on roads and improve public transport like buses (based on status quo for AC and Non AC prices). Also pedestrian crossing signals, i see them a lot now but people are least aware of them also there is button to activate or deactivate these. Also a reform in educations system on respect to individual and knowledge of signs even for pedestrians, i see so many pedestrians crossing expressways, flyovers (munirka flyover is the best example) on daily basis because they know if i get hit 'carwala phasega'

[volkman10]

2016
India Tops In Global Road Accident Fatalities.

What's important to note is that India accounts for less than 3 per cent of the world’s vehicles, but contributes more than 10 per cent to the world’s road deaths!

India is emerging as a major automobile market. While we celebrate this fact, we need to understand that it comes attached to a sad reality. India accounts for 10 per cent of all road accident deaths around the globe. In a year, about 1.46 lakh people lose their lives in automotive accidents in India – the highest in the world. In 2015, about 1,46,133 people lost their lives in 5,01,423 reported road accidents, while many others go unreported

Link

[VKumar]

India has the largest number of road fatalities - agree
Highest number of people losing their lives in road accidents are 2 wheeler riders - agree

The issue is not with rules, it is with mentality. People who are aware become ignorant looking at those who are unaware. I am a rider myself and take utmost care of everything while riding but it is with me or any other BHPian here. What about the idiots on the roads who don't even believe in putting on helmets (Once I was told by a guy that if you put on helmet a lot then you start losing your hair). Here is a small compilation from my dash cam, only 3 idiots on 2 wheels and none having the ovel thing called helmet even around them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmNh...ature=youtu.be

[Mortis]

Im considering getting a bike for my work commute next year but at the same time I am worried for my safety as I am used to driving since the past 15 years and the confidence in the safety a car provides. I will do my best to ride in a responsible manner but most people have a tendency to disregard bikers while driving so I dont know how I will manage that aspect.

[nakul0888]

From my experience I have to say I feel blessed to be living in Kerala. Yes it is no Germany by any stretch of imagination and there are plenty of idiots on two wheelers who overtake you from the left, rim bending pothholes, broken street lights and traffic signals. But of all the places I have visited so far which includes Delhi, Haryana, Bangalore motorists in kochi seems to be less frantic, less chaotic and overall more calm. I don't know if its because kerala has less vehicles on road at any given time or low population or something else. Atleast this what I have experienced. Maybe I am wrong as I haven't traveled a lot and not been to any other states.

[mazda3]

After leaving in USA for a decade and finally moving to India, here is my point of view about Indian Roads, I totally agree with most of you regarding 2 wheeler riders, but problem is not their driving but it is the law enforcement. If traffic police does it's job then the problem will be minimize. Specially in my neck of the woods no one uses helmets, and if you are using one then everyone else will stair at you.
To me problem needs to be solved with proper training and education. To me education and better law enforcement is the key to the road safety.

[lurker]

Originally Posted by nakul0888

From my experience I have to say I feel blessed to be living in Kerala. Yes it is no Germany by any stretch of imagination and there are plenty of idiots on two wheelers who overtake you from the left, rim bending pothholes, broken street lights and traffic signals. But of all the places I have visited so far which includes Delhi, Haryana, Bangalore motorists in kochi seems to be less frantic, less chaotic and overall more calm. I don't know if its because kerala has less vehicles on road at any given time or low population or something else. Atleast this what I have experienced. Maybe I am wrong as I haven't traveled a lot and not been to any other states.

You should visit other parts of Kerala more often then, kochi has the most lousy drivers in Kerala in my opinion. Most KL-07 vehicles are driven rash, without much care for rules and they have no sense of road etiquette or courtesy. It is very much possible that the sum total of KL-07 vehicles that I have seen plyaing in other parts of Kerala belong to second owners.

The worst driving RTO plates in Kerala are KL-33, (these dudes are semi-blind and lack motor coordination), KL-01, KL-03, KL-02, KL-47/48, KL-39, KL-35, KL-26, KL-24. Rest of them are OK with KL-10, KL-11 really well behaved and, KL-(49-73) acceptable.

[old_cayuse]

I was just wondering if there is a driving manual for India. That lays out all the rules of driving and riding in the country. If such a compilation is to be done who would be tasked with the job?

[volkman10]

India overspeeds the world in road fatalities.

Worryingly, the percentage of deaths to the total number of accidents has been steadily increasing over the past five years.

On Indian roads, at least one person dies every three minutes, and the usual suspects—such as over speeding, drunken driving, driving on the wrong side, and failing to wear a seat belt or a helmet—along with bad road planning and potholes are coming out as major contributors, reveals the latest available data with transport ministry.

Ironically, the rising number of traffic accidents—4,12,432 overall and the resulting 1,53,972 deaths—a spike of 16.9% over the previous—comes out as a cause for concern at a time when the Indian government has been raising vehicle safety standards with mandates like that of mandatory air bags, anti-braking systems (ABS), and combined braking systems (CBS), as well as the Bharat New Car Assessment Program.

For the sake of perspective, China, which ranks second with 2,44,937 accidents, had 63,194 fatalities in 2018, while the United States (US), which has the world's largest road network, saw 19,27,654 accidents, though the number of fatalities remained much lower at 36,560, as per the most recent available data from the International Road Federation in Geneva.

Worryingly, the percentage of deaths to the total number of accidents has been steadily increasing over the past five years. It increased by 28.3%, 29%, 29.5%, 30.7%, and 34.5% during 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively, as the latest available data with the Ministry of Road Transportation & Highways (MoRT&H) indicate. In fact, the percentage of fatalities in relation to total accidents increased even during 2020, when overall accidents had seen a drastic dip due to pandemic induced lockdowns across the country.

Link

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by volkman10

India overspeeds the world in road fatalities.

Thank you @volkman10 for sharing this data. It is no surprise to any reader of Team BHP. Marry the world's 5th largest car population, 2nd largest two-wheeler population, and one of the highest commercial vehicle populations with virtually non-existent training and a seriously handicapped attitude towards discipline and road manners {Duh! what's that} further stirred with a "Rajnikant"like belief amongst most 2-wheeler riders and we get the results we see. As we all know the discipline, the training, the knowledge of rules and safety good practices are the key. Till these get addressed improvements can only be minimal. How do you change ingrained attitudes of callousness and ignorance in a population of 1.4 billion? I am usually very optimistic about my country but this is one area I don't think I will see any significant improvement within my lifetime.

That's not 153,972 lives lost before their time. Those are 153,972 families severely disabled and destabilized by the pre-mature, sudden, unexpected and tragic loss of a loved one - a bread earner, a mother, a child, a parent.

[Dr.Abhi]

A new perspective of all the accidents that happen in India by Mr. Bob Rupani (Mr. Narayan rupani) in overdrive.

https://www.overdrive.in/news-cars-a...use-accidents/

Kindly go through it.