Noida: Man, son injured as he swerves Merc to avoid hitting e-rickshaw on wrong side

Noida: A 40-year-old man and his minor son escaped with injuries after their Mercedes E-Class rammed into a footpath, hit a streetlight pole, before crashing into a tree near Botanical Metro Station in a bid to avoid an e-rickshaw coming on the wrong side of the road early Tuesday morning, said officers.

Police identified the injured as Amit Kumar, 40, a resident of Sector 55, Noida.

“On Tuesday around 5.30 am, Amit left home in his Mercedes E-class 250 to drop his 12-year-old son at his school in Sector 46. When he was heading towards the Botanical Garden from Atta Market, an e-rickshaw being driven on the wrong side (from the Botanical Garden side) came in front of his speeding car. To save the e-rickshaw, he steered on his left, and his car rammed into a footpath before hitting a tree and streetlight pole,” said a police officer requesting anonymity.

“The collision was so intense that the pole and tree broke down, leaving the front part of the car completely damaged. But fortunately, he and his son escaped with minor injuries,” the officer said

Police said the e-rickshaw driver, however, fled the scene along with his vehicle.

Passersby alerted police on the emergency helpline number. After a team from Sector 20 police station rushed to the spot, it conducted an investigation and took the father and son to a private hospital from where they were discharged after basic medical attention.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (Noida) Sumit Shukla, said, “No case has been registered, and efforts are underway to identify the e-rickshaw driver with the help of CCTV cameras.”

HT reported on March 21 that the Noida traffic police have reported a surge in wrong-side driving at several major junctions in the city, significantly jeopardising commuter safety and raising the risk of accidents.

The key junctions where wrong-side driving is prevalent include Sector 16 (from Film City to Metro), the Sector 12/22 road near the Botanical Garden, and the Sector 18 underpass, said senior traffic officers, adding that such violations are often resorted to by motorists to avoid long routes.

After four days, the Noida traffic police launched a fortnight drive against the e-rickshaw menace, and later, another drive is being carried out by the transport department from April 1 to 30.

According to the transport department, “There are more than 18,000 registered auto-rickshaws and 23,000 e-rickshaws in the district as of February 2025.”

According to Noida traffic police data, 3,104 e-rickshaws and 2,800 autos were fined in January and February. Also, 383 autos were seized and 399 e-rickshaws in the same period. The statistics show that between January and February 35,397 challans were issued for wrong-lane driving.