Pre-Crash Characteristics of Motorized Two-Wheeler Crashes on Indian Roads JP Research India Pvt., Limited

Format:

Book

Conference/Event

Author/Creator:

Govardhan, Rohan, author.

Contributor:

Jethwa, Vaishnav

Padmanaban, Jeya

Conference Name:

Symposium on International Automotive Technology (2026) (2026-01-28 : Pune, India)

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource cm

Place of Publication:

Warrendale, PA SAE International 2026

Summary:

India has emerged as the world's largest market for motorized two-wheelers (M2Ws) in 2024, reflecting their deep integration into the country's transportation fabric. However, M2Ws are also a highly vulnerable road user category as according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the fatality share of M2W riders rose alarmingly from 27% in 2011 to 44% in 2022, underlining the urgency of understanding the circumstances that lead to such crashes. This study aims to investigate the pre-crash behavior and crash-phase characteristics of M2Ws using data from the Road Accident Sampling System India (RASSI), the country's only in-depth crash investigation database. The analysis covers 3,632 M2Ws involved in 3,307 crash samples from 2011 to 2022, representing approximately 5 million M2Ws nationally. Key variables examined include crash configuration, collision partner, road type, pre-event movement, travel speed, and human contributing factors. The study finds that straight-line travel, overtaking, and negotiating curves are among the most common pre-event movements preceding fatal crashes. Head-on and object-related collisions as well as crashes involving heavy vehicles show higher fatality rates. Human behaviors such as abrupt turns, over-speeding, unsafe overtaking, and riding under the influence of alcohol are major contributors to crash causation. The findings emphasize the need for targeted enforcement, rider training, and improved road infrastructure to reduce the burden of two-wheeler-related fatalities in India

Notes:

Vendor supplied data

Publisher Number:

2026-26-0034

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license