Encroached footpaths, illegal parkings cause 40% pedestrian deaths

A lack of pedestrian-friendly roads, specifically within Delhi, attributes to walkers stepping onto the road and this results in most of the pedestrian accidents and deaths. According to the Delhi Traffic Police, more than 40 per cent of the total pedestrian deaths is because of the non-availability of the pedestrian-friendly roads. According to another study, out of this 40 per cent, more than 75 per cent of the fatal accidents took place in the internal roads of the national Capital. The Merceds hit-and-run as well as the recent Janakpuri accidents took place on the internal roads. 

The CCTV footage of the Janakpuri accident shows Ashwani Anand and Vinod Mehta walking on the middle of the road as cars were parked on both sides, despite the road being a non-parking zone.

Data collected this year indicates that out of 3,143 accidents, 612 were fatal and 631 persons were killed. Out of 631 victims, 42 per cent of them were pedestrians, 39 per cent were driving or were on two-wheelers and 4 per cent were cyclists.

The major reasons of the accidents have been broadly divided in two parts. Following are the reasons: Improper parking Due to a deficiency of parking spaces in residential areas, car-owners are forced to park the vehicle outside their house. As a result, most cars are parked by the road. These days, almost every family owns two cars and most houses are multi-storey buildings in Delhi. Therefore, there is no space to park the car inside the house.

Also, the meagre penalty by the Traffic Police results in owners to park their cars improperly. If someone parks the car at the wrong side or on the road, he gets a challan of just Rs 100 and there is no privilege to tow the car.

“If the traffic department contacts the RWAs or the regular offenders, they retort, asking for a parking space. Hence, we have to allow improper parking in the internal roads until anyone complaints,” said a senior traffic official.

Frequent breaks in the footpath, a lack of footpaths as well as encroachment on the footpaths by shopkeepers, vendors or by residents are other reason that force  pedestrians to walk on the roads.

Cops have identified over 150 pedestrian stretches encroached by the parking mafia, public toilets or dumping vats.

A senior traffic police official said : “With the passage of time, the number of vehicles has increased, while the footpaths have shrunk making the roads more unfriendly for pedestrians. It is a serious matter of concern and the road agencies must take necessary action to remove the encroachment.”