1.3 lakh bicycles tagged with retro reflective tapes in capital

To ensure the safety of cyclists, the Delhi Traffic Police along with Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) a and International Road Federation (IRF) has till date provided about 1.3 lakh bicyclists free retro reflective tapes in the capital. The target set for the current financial year (march 2015 ) is 10 lakh bicycles.

More than 6,600 cyclists lost their lives in 2012 due to lack of visibility, almost a third of them in the age group of 15 to 24. The International Road Federation, in association with the Delhi Police, has started distributing 10 lakh such tapes to bicycle riders in Delhi. It will extend the pilot project to other metros, including Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram.

“The campaign to fix reflective tapes on bicycles free of cost for easy spotting of cyclists by drivers of other vehicles at night is the joint initiative of the International Road Federation (IRF) , and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India and Delhi Traffic Police is already on in Delhi and likely to be taken to other major cities including Chandigarh , Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Kochi.” Said Mr K.K.Kapila, Chairman, International Road Federation (IRF) , a global body working for better roads.

“ Installation of retro-reflective tapes on bicycles will help make bicycles a safer mode of transportation on various busy roads , particularly during late hours. In Delhi IRF, Delhi Traffic Police and MoRTH had recently carried out of putting retro reflective tapes on about ten lakh bicycles. ”said Mr K.K.Kapila, Chairman, Internatioal Road Federation.

“These tapes were being put free of cost in league with various corporates and manufacturers under their CSR programme. the tapes will be fixed on several parts of a bicycle — white tape on front lamp bracket, red tape on rear mud guard and yellow tape on seat stay and front fork.”said Mr Kapila.

“Cyclists are the second most vulnerable road users after pedestrians . Cycles with retro-reflective tapes can be spotted from a distance of at least 100 meters at night and during foggy conditions. According to data available for 2012, around 114 cyclists died in road mishaps in the city. At the national level, the number of cyclists killed in accidents stood at 6,600. Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu accounted for the maximum deaths, claiming over 50% of fatalities across the country.”said Mr Kapila