Written by Alok Mittal
Every evening on India’s highways and city roads, a familiar and deeply unsettling scene plays out. Trucks and cars speed along with headlights cutting through the dusk when a motorcyclist or cyclist suddenly emerges from the shadows. More often than not, the rider is helmetless, dressed in dark clothes, and sometimes riding against the traffic stream. In that split second, visibility — or the absence of it —decides whether it is a close shave or a catastrophe. The tragedy is that the simplest preventive measure — fluorescent jackets during the day and retro-reflective clothing at night — remains almost invisible in India’s road safety discourse.
The world’s largest two-wheeler population and its challenges
India is home to the largest number of two-wheelers in the world, and unfortunately, also the largest number of fatalities involving them. According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ Road Accidents in India 2023 report, a total of 4,80,583 road accidents claimed 1,72,890 lives. Two-wheelers alone accounted for 44.8 per cent of these fatalities, with 77,539 deaths — by far the highest among all road users. National Highways, which account for just 31.2 per cent of accidents, contributed to 36.5 per cent of fatalities. On these highways, 62,598 crashes involving two-wheelers resulted in 26,801 deaths. These numbers expose an uncomfortable truth: The backbone of India’s mobility is also its most vulnerable link.
The missing link in the 4 Es
India’s road safety policy rests on the four Es — Education, Engineering, Enforcement, and Emergency care. Helmets, stricter speed enforcement, safer highway design, and emergency response systems have each received attention. But visibility — the fundamental ability of a rider to be seen by others on the road —remains ignored. This is despite clear global and Indian evidence that high-visibility clothing significantly lowers crash risk.
A 2020 study by IIT Roorkee found that in Delhi, only 10.9 per cent of surveyed motorcyclists wore bright-coloured or reflective clothing. Of those, just 24.3 per cent reported involvement in an accident, compared to 92.6 per cent among those who did not. The study also highlighted that two-wheeler accidents peaked between 7 pm and midnight, underscoring the dangers of riding in dark attire during low-visibility hours. The conclusion was inescapable: Bright-coloured or reflective clothing dramatically improves survival chances.
The Hurt Report
As far back as 1981, the landmark Hurt Report in the United States analysed over 900 crashes and 3,600 accident reports. It concluded that in nearly two-thirds of collisions involving motorcycles, the other driver failed to detect the rider in time. The report recommended that motorcyclists wear bright and reflective clothing to enhance visibility. Its findings set the global tone for road safety policy and remain just as relevant for India four decades later.
Lessons from global evidence
Subsequent international studies have reinforced the same message. A case-control study in Auckland, New Zealand, published in the British Medical Journal in 2004, found that fluorescent or reflective clothing reduced crash injury risk by 37 per cent. White helmets lowered risk by 24 per cent, and daytime headlight use by 27 per cent. In Denmark, research on more than 23,000 cyclists found that reflective vests nearly halved injury crashes. Experiments with “biomotion” reflectors on joints like ankles and knees showed that moving reflective strips dramatically improved nighttime visibility. Across Europe, these insights shaped road safety laws.
The MAIDS study
The Motorcycle Accidents In-Depth Study (MAIDS), published in 2011 in Europe, examined over 900 crashes across five countries and confirmed that failure of other drivers to detect motorcycles was the single biggest cause of accidents. Riders wearing dark or non-contrasting clothing were at the highest risk. Building on this, research by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration continues to emphasise visibility aids, reflective materials, and high-visibility apparel as critical tools for crash prevention.
Fog, winter, and the Indian challenge
India’s climate realities make visibility an even bigger challenge. Northern winters routinely bring dense fog that reduces visibility to mere metres, triggering pileups involving dozens of vehicles. In 2023 alone, 34,266 road accidents in foggy and misty weather claimed 14,617 lives, according to MoRTH. States such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu reported high numbers of fog-related deaths. In such conditions, a retro-reflective vest or strip worn by a rider can mean the difference between being spotted in time and being fatally struck.
The delivery rider dimension
The urgency of this issue is magnified by India’s swelling gig economy. An estimated six million active delivery riders crisscross Indian cities, many riding late at night. Platforms such as Zomato employ about 3.5 lakh riders, Swiggy about 3 lakh, while hiring platforms like Vahan have placed over 4 lakh riders across 200 cities. These riders, often in dark uniforms and racing against time, are nearly invisible to other motorists until the last second. Countries like Australia and New Zealand mandate high-visibility gear for delivery riders. In India, by contrast, this critical workforce remains dangerously exposed.
The law, the courts, and the duty to act
India has made progress with the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, mandating helmets, tightening penalties, and requiring Automatic Headlamp On (AHO) for all new two-wheelers since 2017. Yet the law is silent on rider visibility. The Supreme Court, in Dr S. Rajaseekaran v. Union of India (2018), underlined the state’s duty to adopt scientifically proven safety measures. When global evidence shows that reflective clothing saves lives, continuing inaction is a costly abdication.
The e-DAR opportunity
India’s electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) system, integrated with the iRAD platform, represents a leap forward in data-driven accident analysis. Police now record geo-tagged details, vehicle data, and site photographs in real time. Yet a critical omission persists: The system does not record whether two-wheeler riders involved in accidents were wearing reflective or high-visibility clothing. Including this data could unlock powerful insights on visibility-linked crash risks and support evidence-based policy, including potential amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act. A simple tweak in e-DAR’s data architecture could therefore save thousands of lives.
The way forward
India must now elevate rider visibility to the same level as helmets and AHO. Public campaigns at petrol pumps and toll plazas should distribute reflective vests. Delivery platforms must be made responsible for equipping their riders with high-visibility clothing. Driving schools should teach visibility as a safety habit, and insurers could incentivise compliance through premium discounts. Above all, MoRTH should integrate rider apparel details into the e-DAR framework, enabling targeted policy action grounded in data.
The writer is a senior IPS officer of Haryana cadre
