E-Rickshaw Safety: Bharat NCAP Standards Considered

New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) The government is mulling safety standards for e-rickshaws on the lines of Bharat NCAP to enhance road safety measures, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

Addressing the 7th Edition of FICCI Road Safety Awards and Symposium, the Minister for Road, Transport and Highways said road safety is an important issue for the government. Nearly five lakh road accidents occur in the country annually, claiming 1.8 lakh lives.

Of 1.8 lakh deaths, around 66.4 per cent of people belong to the age group of 18 to 45 years, Gadkari said, stressing awareness towards following traffic rules and assisting accident victims in hospitalisation.

"We are also bringing in Bharat NCAP-like standards for e-rickshaws as these are in huge numbers (across the country). We are assessing how we can improve safety in this," he said.

In 2023, Gadkari launched the Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme), which is aimed at improving road safety standards of motor vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes.

Speaking further on road mishaps, he said around 30,000 deaths happen just because of non-usage of helmets, while 16,000 deaths occur due to non-use of seat belts.

Around 3 per cent of the GDP is lost due to road accidents, he added.

The minister also said safety audits have been conducted across various locations in the country to find the cause of the accidents.

"Road accident is a social problem. I accept that the success we got in other areas, we could not get here (road accidents)."

He urged the public to take accident victims to hospitals immediately as early treatment can help save around 50,000 lives.