Jabalpur activist challenges road-walking norms in Supreme Court:Says citizens have been walking on the wrong side of roads incorrectly for 100 years

We are taught from childhood to always walk on the left side of the road. This teaching has become so ingrained in our habits that we follow this rule even when walking on the road, which is wrong. The rule of walking on the left side of the road is for vehicles, not for pedestrians. According to the Ministry of Road Transport’s 2023 data, after two-wheelers, pedestrians are the most common victims of road accidents. Walking on the road in the direction of vehicles, i.e., with your back to them, is the biggest danger for pedestrians. Regarding this deadly mistake, Gyan Prakash, a social activist from Madhya Pradesh, has knocked on the door of the Supreme Court. In his petition, he has provided data on people dying on the road. He has also asked why rules and regulations have not been made for pedestrians in the country? How have people been repeating this mistake for the last 100 years, generation after generation? Hearing his petition, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and ordered it to file a reply within four weeks. The next hearing of the case will be on November 11. On this, Bhaskar spoke to the petitioner and experts. Read the report… Understand with four cases, how the rule of walking on the left is proving fatal
Case 1: Nanuram Singhad, who worked as a watchman at a vehicle showroom in Ratlam, died in a road accident on August 24. Nanuram was walking home on Kharakhedi Ring Road, adjacent to the Mhow-Neemuch Highway, when a bike coming from behind hit Nanuram. He died on the spot due to head injuries. Case 2: A sadhvi walking on the road on Airport Road in Indore was hit by a crane from behind. The elderly sadhvi died on the spot. This incident happened on July 31. Local people caught the crane driver and handed him over to the police. Case 3: Kunj Bihari Trivedi, 75, a resident of Khaira Kala village in Chhatarpur, went to Munna Adivasi’s house in the village for worship at 10 am on September 24. While returning from there, a speeding motorcycle hit the elderly man. Family members took the elderly man to Bijawar hospital. From there, he was referred to Chhatarpur, but the elderly man died. Case 4: In Bhopal, on June 14, 2024, Raghuvir Singh, father of Sanjay Singh Chauhan, Protocol Officer of Vallabh Bhawan, was hit by a speeding motorcycle in the Habibganj area. He died during treatment at the hospital. Raghuvir Singh had gone for a walk at night. The motorcyclist hit him from behind. How did this ‘fatal mistake’ begin?
Gyan Prakash, the petitioner who took this matter to the Supreme Court, explains that the root of this problem lies in a traffic sign from the British era. At that time, the rule “Keep Left” was made for vehicles. When it was translated into Hindi, it was written. According to Gyan Prakash, the word ‘Chaliye’ (let’s go) created confusion. Pedestrians took it as an instruction for themselves, as there were no separate clear directions or signs for them on the roads. This rule, made for vehicles, became a habit for pedestrians. In that era, traffic on the roads was less, so the danger was also less. As vehicles increased, this habit proved to be a deadly mistake. When a pedestrian walks on the left side of the road, vehicles come from behind them. They have no idea of the vehicle’s speed nor its exact position. In such a situation, even a slight mistake by the vehicle driver leaves the pedestrian no chance to react. What are the rules around the world, why is India lagging?
Gyan Prakash states in his petition that there are no clear traffic laws for pedestrians in India. Our Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 primarily focuses on motor vehicles, whereas countries like England, America, Japan, and Malaysia have a ‘Road Traffic Act’ which includes clear rules for both vehicles and pedestrians. England’s Highway Code clearly states that if there is no footpath, pedestrians should always walk facing oncoming traffic, i.e., on the right side of the road. The same rule applies in Japan and America. Gyan Prakash fighting since 1984
Gyan Prakash has been working to spread awareness on this issue for the past four decades. In 1984, he also wrote a book titled ‘Traffic Education’, in which he advised pedestrians to walk facing oncoming traffic. In 2018, based on Gyan Prakash’s petition, the Supreme Court made saree guards mandatory on all motorcycles and helmets mandatory for pillion riders. In 2019, he filed another petition raising the question of whose responsibility it is to control traffic on national highways? He argued that under the ‘Control of National Highway Land and Traffic Act’, this responsibility lies with the central government, but the central government has neither a dedicated force nor a system for this. Demands through Gyan Prakash’s petition The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the central government on his petition, which was accepted by the Additional Solicitor General. Motor Vehicle Act is for vehicles, not for pedestrians
According to retired officer Satwinder Singh Lalli, the Motor Vehicle Act provides guidelines for vehicles, but it is nowhere written whether pedestrians should walk on the left or right side of the road. RRR (Rules of Road Regulation) were made under the Motor Vehicle Act. It had a provision that all road users, whether cyclists or pedestrians, would follow traffic rules and police orders. Later, this was removed and replaced by Driving Regulations. These are also only for vehicles; now there are no rules for pedestrians. Until there is clarity in the law, we will have to take responsibility for our own safety. Where there are no footpaths, one should walk on the right side, facing the oncoming vehicles. However, the government has the right to make rules under the Motor Vehicle Act.