Safe road rules in place but enforcement, funds missing

Pedestrian deaths in India are alarming, Official statistics reveal that the annual number: of such fatalities have increased from 25,858 in 2019 to 35,221 in 2023. This means 96 pedestrians die in accidents every day on Indian roads.

- Soumya Chatterjee

Taking note of this high fatality rate of pedestrians in road crashes —with one out of five accident victims being pedestrians, the Supreme Court on October 7 issued a 35-point order in a 2012 public interest litigation (PIL) seeking safer road design and enforcement.

The top court emphasised that compliance with Indian Road Congress (IRC) standards is already mandated under Section 138(1)(c) of the Motor Vehicles Act, and cautioned all agencies that failure to comply could attract fines of up to @lakh under Section 198A. It also established clear deadlines, directing all states and union territories to frame and notify rules under sections 138(1A) and 210D of the ‘Act for regulating pedestrian access and design standards of non-highway roads.

Established in 1934, the IRC has published over 150 codes and manuals. Key among these are IRC73 for geometric design of rural roads, IRC:86 for highway drainage, IRC:103 for pedestrian facilities, and IRC! for cycle tracks.