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Ahmedabad Urban Road Accident Study: Only drivers not at fault for mishaps

Study finds 49% pedestrians behaved dangerously which led to accidents in city

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Three pedestrians were injured by a speeding car near Karnavati club on SG highway in the month of January.

A 40-year-old man was killed after being hit by a car near Prernatirth Derasar. These are two of the many hit and run accidents recorded in the city for the year 2018. But even as cops are on the lookout for the absconding car drivers, an important question that needs to be asked is who was at fault.

A comprehensive analysis of 156 accident cases that occured in Ahmedabad in the year 2016 (Jan-Dec) by JP Research India Pvt Ltd showed that 27% of the road users affected were pedestrians.

But what is interesting is that the study titled Ahmedabad Urban Road Accident Study (2016) found that 15% of the total accidents involved at least one pedestrian related factor.

"Out of the 39 pedestrians involved in the 34 pedestrian accidents considered in this study, 49% (19 Pedestrians) of them behaved dangerously on the road which solely or in combination contributed in the occurrence of accidents," the study states.

The study states that pedestrian dangerous behaviour is a scenario where the pedestrian's unsafe action led to an accident. The findings don't surprise Isha Dave, assistant professor with the faculty of management at GLS University. Dave who did a study on pedestrian shoppers found that the pedestrians were not only unaware of traffic rules meant to them but also reluctant to follow it.

"Better facilities for pedestrians can go a long way in improving pedestrian behaviour.But we also need punitive action as a deterrent for pedestrians not following traffic rules," said Dave. An expert who has closely studied road accidents and their causes in the city said a lot of factors are at play. "In the city pedestrians rarely get the right of way even at zebra crossings. Neither the pedestrian nor the vehicle drivers realise that if a pedestrian is crossing the road , he has the first right to cross it. This lack of awareness both on the part of the drivers and pedestrians means they continue with the dangerous behaviour which many times results in accidents," said an expert in the field. "Road dividers have metal fences and pedestrians often use this fence to cross over and it is very dangerous because the vehicle driver may not even realise that someone is going to step out of the road fence," said the expert.

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