The recent accident involving noted environmentalist Sunita Narain, who suffered multiple fractures when a speeding car hit her bicycle, has brought to fore the vulnerability of cyclists on Delhi’s roads.
While the Delhi Traffic Police claimed that the city has witnessed a slight drop in the number of fatal accidents involving cyclists this year, 67 cyclists have died in road accidents in the national Capital this year. For the safety of bicycle riders, who are the most vulnerable of all other commuters, the traffic police are now set to ensure that safety stickers are put on the mud guards of 1 lakh bicycles in the city by the end of this week.
Traffic police said that often the cyclists die in such accidents as they are not visible during night time and when visibility is poor.
“The cyclists are the most vulnerable lot among all road users and are prone to fatal accidents. To avoid such fatalities, the traffic police have set a target to paste safety stickers on the mud guards of 1 lakh bicycles plying on city roads. These stickers glow in the dark and will, thus, inform the motorists about a cyclist ahead,” said Anil Shukla, Additional Commissioner of Police (traffic).
He added that through concerted efforts and presence of more traffic police personnel on Delhi roads, number of fatal accidents involving cyclists has come down from 90 (last year) to 67 (this year).
“The stickers will work towards ensuring better safety of the bicycle riders. The drive to paste and distribute safety stickers on the bicycles will be carried out on those stretches which witness high volume of bicycle riders such as Devli, Khanpur, Sangam Vihar, Seelampur and Narela among others,” he added. According to the traffic police estimates, the national Capital has about 10 to 12 lakh cyclists.