Delhi Crash Exposes India's Road Crisis: Two-Wheeler Riders at Highest Risk

The recent accident in Dwarka that claimed the life of 23-year-old Sahil Dhaneshra has once again exposed a reality that plays out on Indian roads every single day, but rarely receives sustained attention. Dhaneshra, riding his motorcycle, was struck by a speeding SUV, an incident that mirrors thousands of similar crashes across the country.

Data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reveals that two-wheeler riders continue to face the highest risk of accidents and fatalities among all road users in India.

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The figures presented by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in the Lok Sabha on February 12, 2026, paint a stark picture. In 2024, two-wheelers were involved in 2.31 lakh accidents, far more than any other category. Cars, taxis and vans together accounted for 67,988 accidents, while pedestrians were involved in 94,780 incidents during the same year. The disproportionate involvement of two-wheelers is not merely a statistical anomaly - it reflects the reality of a country where motorcycles and scooters are the most accessible mode of transport for millions, especially in urban and semi-urban regions.

The dominance of two-wheelers in crash data also underlines their vulnerability. Unlike cars, which offer a protective shell, riders on motorcycles and scooters are exposed directly to impact. Even a minor collision can result in severe injuries. India has over 25 crore registered vehicles, and two-wheelers make up nearly 75% of them, which places riders at the highest level of exposure.

Overspeeding

What happened in Dwarka fits into another troubling national pattern: overspeeding. The initial police probe suggests that the SUV that hit Dhaneshra's motorcycle was travelling at an unsafe speed. National data shows that overspeeding was the single biggest cause of road accidents in 2023, responsible for 2.84 lakh crashes, more than twice the accidents caused by dangerous driving or overtaking, which stood at 1.1 lakh.

Other causes such as poor weather conditions, animal crossings, mechanical failures or driver fatigue were minuscule in comparison. The overwhelming dominance of overspeeding in accident causation suggests that enforcement, road design, and driver behaviour together form a deadly mix.

High Fatalities

If the high number of accidents involving two-wheelers is alarming, the fatality numbers are even more so. In 2023, two-wheeler users accounted for nearly half of all road deaths in the country - 44.8 per cent. Put simply, one out of every two people who died on Indian roads was either a biker or a scooter rider. Pedestrians, another vulnerable group, accounted for 20.4 per cent of deaths, while car occupants were at 12.4 per cent.

The numbers show that India's road safety crisis is not evenly distributed. Certain groups, particularly two-wheeler riders, bear the brunt of it.