Vulnerable road users in India: An assessment of road traffic accidents, injuries and deaths

There is a significant increase in the number of road traffic accidents (RTA), injuries and deaths in the last decade. Besides, the decade has witnessed a shift in the age pattern of mortality due to RTAs resulting a large number of relatively younger population is injured and killed. In addition, light motor vehicles cause more lives than heavy motor vehicles. Since 2000, there has been continuous increase in deaths of two wheeler users due to RTA and it accounts for the largest share of deaths in 2011. Largely, the vulnerable population is in the prime productive age group and males are more vulnerable to RTA injuries and deaths than females. On the other hand, fault of a driver is by far the most important cause of death due to RTA. Therefore, immediate intervention is called for, since there is no specific policy to mitigate road traffic accidents in India. Language: en