Understanding Vulnerable Road Users’ Plight through Crash Data: Insights from Amritsar City

By : Arbab Ahmad, Gopal K. Johari

Page No: 188-202

Abstract
Amritsar is one of the most celebrated religious cities in the world where millions of devotees and tourists not only come to pay their respects but also to explore the culture that was infused by the Gurus some 550 years ago. It becomes important to know and assess the condition of Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) within the City itself and upgrade the infrastructure as per the scientific and data-driven evaluation. This paper analyses 2018–2022 road accident data from Amritsar City to assess the vulnerability of two-wheelers, pedestrians, and cyclists (VRUs). VRUs accounted for a critical 80 per cent of total victims, dominated by two-wheeler riders (49%) and pedestrians (24%). While the 2020 pandemic reduced crashes, the post-pandemic phase saw a 130 per cent surge in serious injuries caused by two-wheelers by 2022. The pedestrian risk is exacerbated by hit-and-run incidents, which comprise 74 per cent of crashes and 72 per cent of fatalities in this category. These results underscore a systemic governance and infrastructure failure, necessitating urgent modal prioritisation, physical segregation, and targeted enforcement to mitigate catastrophic risk (Census of India, 2011).

Authors
Arbab Ahmad, Research Scholar, GRD School of Planning, GNDU, Amritsar.
Dr. Gopal K. Johari, Associate Professor, GRD School of Planning, GNDU, Amritsar.
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/NL.2025.57.02.5