Types of Vulnerable Road User

Pedestrian, Bicyclist, Motor Cyclist, and other Non-Motorized vehicle (NMV) users are generally considered as vulnerable road users.

Pedestrians

Pedestrians are the most vulnerable among all road users because they lack the protection of a vehicle. As a driver, it is your responsibility, to do everything conceivable to stay away from the crashes involving a pedestrian. When you are driving in residential and business areas, you should be aware of the presence of pedestrians and drive slowly and attentively. It may be mentioned that in residential areas, the interaction between the vehicle and child pedestrian is expected to be higher. Similarly, in business and commercial areas, people often move haphazardly on the street and cross the road in the middle of the traffic blockage or at intersections violating the traffic signal. However, as a driver, you must be cautious about such situations and drive slowly and carefully at these locations.

Bicycle Riders

Bicycle riders are considered to be vulnerable mainly due to the lack of protective shell and smaller size of the vehicle. The problem is much more severe at locations like intersections where sight distance is restricted. While overtaking a cyclist, you should allow an adequate gap between your vehicle and the bicycle. You should be tolerant to give them enough time to cross the road safely. It is also important for you to check the mirrors and blind spots for hidden bicyclists.

Motorcycle Riders

Motorcyclists are also considered under the group of vulnerable road users. The risk of fatality is much more due to a higher speed than other vulnerable road users. Safety accessories (helmet, boots, etc.) are important in reducing the severity of accidents for motorcycle riders. However, often it is observed that due to lack of awareness they do not use such accessories.

Other Non-motorized Vehicles (NMV) and passengers

Other non-motorized vehicles, for example, cycle-rickshaws, hand pull rickshaws, animal carts, and handcarts move slower than other motorized vehicles. This low-speed nature of NMV often causes inconvenience to other vehicles and sometimes, leads to accidents. It may be mentioned that most of the fatalities involving NMV are at crossings or intersections. The possible reasons are:

• NMV users are unable to judge the situation
• Motorised vehicle users misread the speed of NMV
• Motorized vehicle users often overlook the NMV.

As a responsible driver, it is your duty to be considerate to the NMV users. It is worthwhile to mention that even on highways where mobility is the first priority, often you will pass through some suburban areas. In such locations, there will be an interaction between pedestrians or other NMV and motorized vehicles. So, you need to be more cautious while driving through such congested locations.