Road Deaths in India Hit 1.72 Lakh in 2023, Experts Call For Design Changes

India holds the grim distinction of having the highest number of road fatalities globally, accounting for about 11% of the world's road crash deaths. In 2023, the country recorded an alarming 1.72 lakh road crash fatalities. This equates to an average of 474 deaths every day, or one death every three minutes. Additionally, 4.63 lakh people sustained injuries, marking a 4% increase from 2022, even though India has just 1% of the world’s vehicles. 

Six Indian states – Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan – accounted for nearly 55% of road deaths in 2023. Vulnerable road users like pedestrians, bicyclists and two-wheeler riders comprised  67% of the deceased. Road traffic crashes impose huge social and financial costs, particularly in low- and middle-income households costing an economic burden equivalent to  3.14% of India’s GDP annually. 

Principles of Good Road Design

Urban streets in India prioritize structural durability over thoughtful design, catering primarily to vehicles while neglecting the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. In Mumbai, despite 36% of the population walking or cycling to work, compared to just 3% using cars, the focus remains on building new roads and widening existing ones. 

Features like pedestrian crossings, cycling lanes and speed-calming measures reduce conflicts between people and vehicles and enhance safety for vulnerable groups. The principle of "Less is More" is essential for designing efficient and safe roads. Carriageways should be wide enough to facilitate smooth vehicular movement and yet not take up excessive space. Inconsistent widths at junctions and along corridors further contribute to unsafe conditions.

Optimizing carriageway dimensions and reallocating surplus space for pedestrian zones and edge improvements can significantly reduce conflicts, improving safety at junctions and corridors and fostering more balanced and inclusive urban streetscapes. Furthermore, applying data-driven, user-centred interventions can address key risks, ensuring accessibility and equity. Combined with supportive policies, good design fosters safer, resilient and inclusive urban mobility systems.

Designing Junctions and Corridors

Junction geometry plays a critical role in reducing road crashes and influencing the behavior of all road users, including drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Pedestrians face heightened risks at junctions due to several factors:

Multiple Conflict Points: Pedestrians often cross paths with vehicles turning left or right, creating multiple risks of collisions, especially where junctions are not well designed. 

Speeding:  Wide turning radii allow vehicles to take turns at higher speeds, increasing the severity of collisions, especially with pedestrians.

Inadequate Crossing Infrastructure: Absence of marked crosswalks, pedestrian signals or refuge islands makes crossing dangerous. Wide junctions increase the time pedestrians are exposed to moving traffic, making crossings more hazardous.

Complexity and Lack of Accessibility: Junctions are busy environments with high cognitive loads for drivers and pedestrians. Misjudgements are more likely to occur in such scenarios. Poorly designed or inadequate infrastructure for people with disabilities, senior citizens, and children poses significant hazards, making everyday mobility challenging.

Redesigning Junctions

The Suraksha 75 Mission 2023 was introduced to improve 75 critical junctions in Bengaluru by improving traffic flow and making the junctions safer for all road users, particularly pedestrians. The 75 junctions identified had recorded 123 pedestrian fatalities in 3 years (2017-2019).

Launched by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), in collaboration with Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) with WRI India as a technical partner under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety, Suraksha75 Mission 2023 led to institutionalizing systematic changes with a budget of 18M USD (INR 150 Crores).  

These included procurement of design services, establishing a dedicated cell for overall process overview, design review and internal co-ordination, institutionalizing a standard operating procedure for improved processes and design standards and allocating budgets to enable people-centric street design implementation and city-wide scale-up. 

Redesigning Carriageways

The most visible component of our roads is the carriageway, designed primarily to facilitate the movement of motorized vehicles. However, in India, the roads are used by motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, animal- and hand-drawn carts, auto-rickshaws, buses, trucks and various other modes of transport.   Roads also support economic activities such as street vending, transportation of utilities and other essential services.

Designing corridors with dedicated and well-marked spaces for non-motorized users, such as wider sidewalks and protected cycle tracks, minimizes the risk of collisions and provides safer travel options. Integrating traffic-calming measures like raised crossings, speed humps and curb extensions reduces vehicular speeds.  Clear crossings with features like raised pedestrian crossings, refuge islands and advanced stop lines for cyclists helps prioritize their movement.

A well-designed corridor also fosters multimodal connectivity, encouraging more people to walk or cycle by enhancing comfort and convenience. Shade-providing trees, street lighting, and pedestrian-scale design features increase usability and safety, especially during off-peak hours.

By ensuring continuity in pedestrian paths and cycle lanes, eliminating abrupt transitions, and addressing accessibility barriers, corridor improvements create inclusive spaces for all, including older adults and people with disabilities. To achieve this vision, we must move away from traditional reactive measures to a more proactive  'Safe Systems Approach'.

This framework broadens the accountability for road crashes, placing responsibility not only on individual road users but also on policymakers, road designers and other stakeholders engaged in infrastructure development. One effective strategy is to adopt the principle of  “Minimum Intervention, Maximum Impact”. This approach focusses on identifying and implementing critical low-cost solutions that make roads and streets safer for all.  

Capacity-Building for the Long Run

While effective design of junctions and corridors is critical for immediate road safety improvements, long-term solutions must focus on capacity- of the city ecosystem, including engineers to ensure the sustainable design and implementation of safer roads. Guidelines are essential in this context, providing a structured framework for holistic, safer, more inclusive and complete street designs.

In India, resources like the Indian Road Congress (IRC) Codes, UTTIPEC's Street Design Guidelines, Bangalore’s Tender SURE, Pune’s Urban Street Design Guidelines, etc offer critical direction. These guidelines are designed to be suggestive, allowing flexibility for diverse contexts, which makes them valuable tools for addressing complex street design and road safety challenges.

Professional capacity building programs focused on road safety audits, innovative construction techniques and user-centric planning equip will stakeholders with the expertise required to address the complex challenges of urban mobility. 

Equally important is the involvement of citizens and young professionals in building awareness and advocating for safer streets. Educating communities about the benefits of pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly infrastructure fosters public support and collective ownership.

Empowering all stakeholders to implement best practices will improve road design quality and promote lasting cultural and behavioral shifts toward safer, more sustainable mobility. This collective effort is crucial to creating safer urban mobility systems that protect all users and support inclusive, resilient cities.

Disclaimer: Dhawal Ashar is the Head of Sustainable Cities and Transport at WRI India. Chetan Sodaye is the Program Manager, Sustainable Cities and Transport at WRI India. Authors' views are personal.