The video of Shivani Chauhan’s near-death experience when a four-wheeler clattered into her motorbike on a Gurugram thoroughfare would have brought on Pavlovian recoil among lakhs of families. After all, riding a bike on Indian roads could be extremely dangerous. At least 84,599 two-wheeler riders died on the streets of India in 2024, accounting for almost half of all road accident fatalities—a higher share than the year before. Tamil Nadu accounted for as many as 11,786 of the deaths, topping the states by a worrying margin. Overspeeding caused most of the accidents. There is hope for justice in Chauhan’s case, whose viral video prompted the authorities to nab the suspect within two days. With CCTV cameras proliferating across India, lakhs of other victims also deserve a similarly alert response.
