With 4 deaths a day, Haryana roads remain unsafe for pedestrians

CHANDIGARH: In 2018 as many as 1,471 pedestrians and 143 cyclists were killed in different road crashes in Haryana.

This means everyday at least four people were killed while walking along the roads in state, according to road accidents in India-2018, a 124-page data released by the Union ministry of road transport and highways on Tuesday.

At 324, the 18-25 age bracket, which is considered the most productive age group, saw the highest number of pedestrian deaths.

In terms of accidents related killings by type of road user, the number of pedestrians killed accounted for 15% across the country.

Among the road users the pedestrians and cyclists are considered to be the most vulnerable. The level of vulnerability of road users to accidents is high as the same road space is being shared among wide variety of motorised, and non-motorised vehicles and pedestrians. Across the country, the number of pedestrians killed in road accidents has increased from 20,457 in 2017 to 22,656 in 2018 —increase of about 10.75%.

While pedestrians accounted for 15% and cyclists contributed to another 2.4% of the road users killed in 2018 in India. In Haryana, a total 5,118 persons were killed last year in road accidents and the state’s share was 3.4%. In 2017, the total number of persons killed in the state was 5,120. The number of total road accidents in

Haryana was 11,262 last year, just four more accidents than 2017. The state witnessed a rise in accidents along the National Highways with 4,358 accidents and ranked 10th in the country. As many as 2,088 persons were killed and 3,337 injured in road crashes along the NHS last year. In 2017 as many as 1,990 people were killed in NH accidents. As per data, the number of people killed in state highways was 1,486 in 2018.