Gadkari seeks new norms, quality checks for cycles to protect cyclists

New Delhi: To improve safety for cyclists,Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari hasasked the Consumer Affairs ministry to update norms pertainingto bicycles.

In a letter to Consumer Affairs Minister Ram VilasPaswan, Gadkari expressed concern over a large number of
cyclists who are killed in road accidents.He said the Road Ministry is working with the Departmentof Consumer Affairs and Bureau of Indian Standards to improvethe safety of bicycle riders.

Gadkari said the new norms will have to be mandated forcompliance in the manufacturing of bicycles through stringentquality checks.

He has requested Paswan to personally intervene in thematter for an expeditious solution and put an end to misery onthe roads.

Gadkari said: “Bicycle users happen to be one of the mostvulnerable road users, susceptible to high rate of road
accident, in 2012, 6,600 cyclists were killed in roadaccidents.”

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Poor visibility of bicycle riders due to lack of properreflective devices installed on the bicycle is the mostcritical reason for the high rate of accidents with motorisedvehicles, he said.

“Installation of retro-reflective tapes on bicycles willhelp make bicycles a safer mode of transportation on various
busy roads, particularly during late hours,” said K K Kapila,Chairman, International Road Federation.

He said these tapes were being put free of cost in leaguewith various corporates and manufacturers under their
(corporate social responsibility) CSR programme.

PTI