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Air pollution isn’t just an environmental issue, it’s a global health crisis that affects millions of lives every year. An estimated 6.7 million people die prematurely due to exposure to harmful pollutants, making it one of the deadliest threats we face today.

Chennai has a complex transportation system with a mix of buses, rail, metro, autos, taxis, and all the other private transport means. The public network systems, while vast, are not always tied in efficiently, meaning that commuters are often left with lags in their journeys as they switch modes (for example from a Metro train to a bus).

Teenagers or even younger children driving two-wheelers or cars on the road, often in school uniforms, or younger kids being picked up by their elder siblings in vehicles is nothing new in India. This is despite the law in India clearly stating that the legal driving age for most vehicles is 18 years. It is very unlikely that underage driving is spurred by a lack of knowledge of the law, as sometimes children far below 18 are found using motor vehicles.

India has seen a consistent rise in road crash fatalities, driven by expanding road networks and faster vehicles. In 2023 alone, Tamil Nadu recorded 18,347 road fatalities, with Chennai accounting for 504 of these deaths.

This article first appeared in Citizen Matters on January 11, 2025

Nearly 1 in 5 cars sold globally in 2023 were electric. Almost 14 million electric cars were registered globally in 2023, of which 95% were from China, USA and Europe. This translates to a 35% year on year increase compared to 2022. The numbers are a combination of both battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). 

Mobility plays an integral part in our day to day lives. Whether it's commuting to work, running errands, or visiting loved ones, our ability to move freely and efficiently shapes our lives and enhances our quality of it. Public and private transport modes are two broad categories that contribute to the movement necessary for a smoothly functioning society.

Based on the report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, in 2022, 72.4% of accidents and 75.2% of fatalities (119,904 out of 168,491) occurred in India due to over speeding.

India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. While the expansion and improvement of road transport improves socio-economic development, they have also brought significant environmental challenges in India, including a sharp rise in CO2 emissions and air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOX) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

In the rapidly evolving landscape of transportation, road safety is of paramount importance for communities worldwide, serving as a fundamental pillar for sustainable development and social well being.