Walkers’ woes: Pedestrian deaths hit pre-Covid level in Bengaluru

The number of pedestrian deaths in road accidents in Bengaluru has moved closer to pre-pandemic levels despite a steady overall decline in numbers from the past decade.

In 2022, total of 248 pedestrians were killed and 819 pedestrians were injured in road accidents in the city. In 2019, Bengaluru reported 272 deaths and 1,197 injuries. These numbers, still, are on a steady decline from 2013, a year that saw 382 pedestrian deaths and 1,403 injuries in the city.

A combination of negligent driving, two-wheeler movement and parking on footpaths, jumping signals, and overall poor infrastructure has left the city’s roads and footpaths unsafe for pedestrians, said Professor Ashish Verma of Transport Systems Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Convenor, IISc Sustainable Transportation Lab.

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He also attributed the accidents to the depleting road space due to ongoing metro construction and road repairs which have picked up pace in the past couple of years. “Metro work has been taken up with zero consideration for pedestrians in the city, making it nearly impossible for them to walk around areas where the work is ongoing, thus increasing their risk of getting hit by a vehicle,” he added.

However, the slow decline in pedestrian accidents from 2013 could be attributed to the increase in vehicles on the road which slows down traffic flow, thus marginally reducing the total number of accidents, he said.

“Regardless of the dip in the overall number of accidents, two-wheeler users and pedestrians remain the two categories of road users who are at the highest risk – almost 90% – for road accidents in the city,” he said.

2022 saw 18,144 cases booked against people for riding on footpaths, a 115.4% increase from the previous year’s number of 8,422. Pedestrians trying to avoid riders on footpaths have no choice but to get on the roads, where they face a higher risk of being hit by an overspeeding or negligent driver.

In many parts of the city, vehicle users also park their vehicles on the footpaths. Last year, 1,53,983 cases of footpath parking were registered against vehicle users in the city, a 105% increase from 74,851 cases in 2021, which meant that there was little space for pedestrians to walk on an area supposedly dedicated to them, forcing them to get on the roads.

This year has already seen an alarming increase in the number of vehicles jumping signals in the city. Until February 28, 1,61,352 cases were booked against vehicle users for jumping signals; the figures from 2022 and 2021 are 4,20,541 and 8,22,529, respectively.

Special Commissioner (Traffic) M A Saleem said the actual number of cases in the previous years might have been much higher than recorded. “These numbers will only continue to go up with Red Light Violation Detection cameras helping with increased capturing and identification of vehicle users who commit traffic violations,” he said.