How Driving Behaviour, And Not Vehicle Size, Is Defining Danger On Delhi Roads | Delhi News

New Delhi: For years, the city’s roads have followed a familiar pattern — the biggest vehicle has often been the most dangerous one. Private cars have topped fatal crashes, with heavy goods vehicles close behind.Over the past two years, however, scooters and motorcycles have overtaken heavy vehicles to become the second-largest contributors to fatal accidents, redrawing the city’s risk map.A significant share falls under “unknown” vehicles, largely hit-and-run cases. But once these are set aside, the pattern becomes clearer.In 2025, Delhi recorded 1,578 fatal crashes, up from 1,504 in 2024, reveals Delhi Traffic Police data. Of the 922 identified cases in 2025, private cars led to 26.5% of fatal crashes. Scooters and motorcycles followed at 21.7%, overtaking heavy goods vehicles at 20.6%.The trend had already started to emerge in 2024. Of the 870 fatal crashes that year, private cars caused 27.6%, two-wheelers 21.5% and goods vehicles 20.8%.This marks a clear break from the past. Until 2023, heavy vehicles firmly held second place. That year, out of 772 fatal crashes, private cars accounted for 23.8%, goods vehicles were at 23.6% while scooters and motorcycles trailed at 20%.In 2022, private cars accounted for 25.8% of crashes, followed by goods vehicles at 23.4% and two-wheelers at 18.9%. In 2021, the order was unchanged: cars at 25.8%, goods vehicles at 21.8% and scooters at 17.5%.The risk is now moving away from size and towards exposure and driving behaviour. Officials say restrictions on non-destined trucks entering Delhi, especially during pollution-control periods under CAQM orders, have reduced the presence of heavy vehicles within the city.“We continue to follow CAQM orders. Diverting such vehicles via the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways saves time, reduces congestion and lowers accident risk. If there is no need for a vehicle to enter Delhi and an alternative route exists, it is turned back,” Dinesh Kumar Gupta, additional CP (traffic), said, adding this year, 97,491 vehicles were checked in Jan, 58,917 in Feb and 30,440 till March 15.“While two-wheelers are among the most vulnerable road users, they are often violators too,” he said, adding efforts are underway to use technology to curb violations more effectively.Fewer trucks inside city limits have meant fewer of them in crash data. But the space they leave behind is quickly filled. At signals, on flyovers, and along inner roads, two-wheelers form a near-constant stream that rarely pauses, weaving through traffic, taking shortcuts and occupying narrow gaps between lanes.S P Singh, senior fellow and coordinator at Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training, said, “While better infrastructure has reduced the entry of heavy transport vehicles in the city, driving behaviour within Delhi has not improved. Negligent driving persists, which is why these vehicles still rank among the top contributors to fatal crashes.”He added, “Two-wheelers have surged due to easier loan access. With rising numbers, violations by e-scooters and motorcycles have increased. The irony is they are both frequent violators and among the most vulnerable, often ending up as fatalities.”Meanwhile, buses, despite carrying a large number of daily commuters, account for a much smaller share of fatal crashes. Their involvement has remained under 5% in recent years, dropping to around 3.9% in both 2024 and 2025.E-rickshaws, once a marginal presence, accounted for 3.9% of fatal crashes in 2025. Fatal crashes involving e-rickshaws have more than tripled over five years, rising from 10 in 2021 to 36 in 2025. The vehicles operate in tight, mixed-traffic conditions, where movement is less predictable. Their increasing numbers add to vehicle density in these spaces, where interactions are frequent and margins for error are small.