Kolkata’s road-safety push must begin with pedestrians: IIT transport expert
Times of India | 17 August 2026
KOLKATA: Pedestrian Safety Day has brought renewed attention to Kolkata’s most vulnerable road user, with an IIT Kharagpur analysis warning that West Bengal’s road deaths are increasingly concentrated among people on foot.
The data note by Bhargab Maitra, professor of civil engineering and a specialist in traffic safety, travel behaviour, traffic control and public transport systems, says the state’s crash numbers alone do not capture the scale of danger. West Bengal reported 13,702 road accidents in 2024, slightly below 13,795 in 2023, but fatalities rose from 6,027 to 6,676, a 10.77% increase. On national highways within the state, crashes increased from 3,841 to 4,172, while deaths rose from 1,957 to 2,113.
The sharper concern is who is dying. Maitra’s reading of MoRTH data shows that between 2019 and 2023, cumulative pedestrian deaths in West Bengal exceeded two-wheeler deaths. In West Bengal and Bihar, pedestrians account for more than half of all road accident fatalities, against a national pedestrian share of about 20%. This reverses the national pattern, where two-wheeler riders usually form the largest victim group.
Kolkata’s latest publicly available city-level breakup is from 2022, when Kolkata Traffic Police recorded 185 road deaths and pedestrians made up less than half. The city did not feature among NCRB’s top cities for pedestrian deaths in 2022 or 2023. But Maitra’s report underlines that outdated public data should not be mistaken for low risk, especially in a city defined by dense mixed traffic, narrow roads, crowded crossings, encroached footpaths and heavy dependence on buses, Metro, trains, ferries and walking.
The findings point to a basic policy test: reducing the conflict between walking and fast-moving vehicles. Kolkata needs continuous, obstruction-free footpaths, accessible to children, older citizens and persons with disabilities. Crossings near schools, hospitals, markets, transit hubs and offices require raised tables, refuge islands, longer pedestrian signal phases, better lighting and stricter yielding by vehicles.
Speed management is equally critical. Low-speed zones around markets, schools, stations, bus stops and residential streets must be enforced, along with action against red-light jumping, dangerous overtaking, drunk driving and failure to yield.
The report also strengthens the case for an annual pedestrian safety dashboard, mapping deaths, injuries, locations, vehicle types and time patterns. Disclosure would allow police, civic agencies and transport planners to identify black spots and assess whether interventions are reducing fatalities. For Kolkata, the message is clear: road safety begins where every journey begins and ends—on foot.