Our research has contributed to advancing road safety by generating evidence on the burden, causes, and consequences of road traffic injuries, while strengthening the data and systems needed to prevent them. Through population-based studies, surveillance research, burden estimation, and policy engagement, we have helped position road traffic injuries as a major and preventable public health challenge in India.

Our work has demonstrated that:

• Road traffic injuries are a major public health and development challenge: Our research has quantified the substantial burden of mortality, disability, and economic loss due to road injuries, providing evidence that has informed national priorities and highlighted the urgent need for sustained investment in road safety.
• Reliable data are the foundation of effective road safety: We have shown that official data sources substantially underestimate the true burden of road traffic injuries and deaths, highlighting the need to strengthen surveillance systems and integrate multiple data sources for accurate monitoring and informed decision-making.
• Understanding who is at risk is essential for prevention: Our studies have identified the differing risks faced by pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, children, users of public transport, and other vulnerable road users, providing evidence to support targeted interventions and safer transport systems.
• Road safety requires a systems approach: Our work has reinforced that road traffic injuries are not random “accidents” but predictable and preventable events influenced by road design, vehicle safety, human behaviour, legislation, enforcement, and access to quality trauma care. This evidence supports comprehensive, multisectoral approaches to road safety.
• Subnational evidence matters: By generating state-level estimates of road injury burden, our research has demonstrated substantial variation across India, enabling governments to identify priorities and tailor interventions to local contexts rather than relying on national averages.
• Children require dedicated road safety strategies: Our research has highlighted children’s patterns of road use, their unique exposure to risk, and the need for age-appropriate infrastructure, education, and policies that create safer environments for young road users.
• Evidence must inform policy and implementation: Our work has contributed to national and global discussions on road safety by providing evidence that supports stronger surveillance, better policy, and implementation of interventions aligned with international best practices.
• Road injuries are preventable: Across our research programme, we have consistently demonstrated that reducing road traffic injuries requires coordinated action across transport, health, urban planning, police, engineering, education, and legislative sectors. Prevention depends on creating safer systems rather than placing responsibility solely on individual road users.

Together, these contributions have helped shift the narrative from viewing road crashes as isolated events to recognising road injuries as a preventable public health problem that requires evidence-informed, systems-based solutions.