SC orders nationwide audit of footpath, ban of police-like beacon lights

THe sublime margaret court on tues ordered a nationwide scrutinize of footpaths and route crossings in 50 cities and issued sweeping directions to curb road accident deaths, including mandatory helmet use, strict lane discipline, and a complete ban on unauthorised red-blue strobe lights and illegal hooters.The directives came as the court addressed alarming statistics showing that pedestrians accounted for over 20% of India’s road fatalities. According to the Road Accidents in India 2023 report, 35,221 of the 172,890 road accident deaths last year were pedestrians. In 50 cities with populations exceeding one million, 4,604 pedestrians were killed.A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan passed the orders while hearing a public interest litigation filed by leading orthopaedic surgeon and public-spirited citizen S Rajeseekaran on road safety, along with an application by lawyer Kishan Chand Jain who drew the court’s attention to the growing incidents of pedestrian deaths.The bench noted the absence of law or lack of enforcement of existing rules to clear footpaths of encroachment, which forces pedestrians onto the carriageway, making them vulnerable to accidents.The court directed road-owning agencies in the 50 cities—as mentioned in the Road Accidents in India 2023 report—and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to begin auditing existing footpaths, starting with crowded areas such as markets, railway stations, bus stands, religious institutions, and educational institutions.Following the audit, authorities must draw up an action plan for a phase-wise survey to assess the need for additional pedestrian crossings. The court ordered authorities to prioritise at least 15-20 chronic accident hotspots that recorded the most pedestrian injuries and deaths in recent years.The bench directed phased deployment of automated, camera-based monitoring systems to prevent encroachment of pedestrian spaces.The court invoked Section 198A of the Motor Vehicles Act to hold officials and contractors personally liable in cases of pedestrian deaths caused by infrastructural or design failures.Beyond pedestrian safety, the court focused on three additional areas: helmet use, wrong lane driving and unsafe overtaking, and misuse of lights and hooters.The bench directed all states, Union territories, and NHAI to strictly implement helmet laws, noting that over 54,000 two-wheeler passengers died in 2023 due to non-wearing of helmets. At the next hearing, authorities must present the mechanism to curb this violation, along with data on the number of persons penalised, amounts recovered through challans, and licences suspended on this account.On lane discipline, the court directed state transport departments, traffic police authorities, and urban local bodies to enforce measures addressing unlawful or wrong-lane driving.Red-blue strobe lights bannedThe court ordered a complete ban on unauthorised red-blue strobe lights and illegal hooters through market crackdowns and penalties. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), state transport departments, and traffic police were directed to sensitise drivers and pedestrians about hazards posed by dazzling headlights, unauthorised strobe lights, and illegal hooters.“High-intensity headlights, including those fitted in two-wheelers, cause temporary visual disorientation and glare for oncoming drivers, as well as pedestrians,” the bench said, adding that misuse of hooters and red-blue strobe lights creates a “false sense of authority, intimidation, and panic” among pedestrians and other road users.