New Delhi, May 21 (IANS): Dinesh Mohan, an honorary professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and one of the leading experts on traffic safety issues, succumbed to Covid-19 on Friday.

"Mohan (75) was undergoing treatment at the St Stephen's Hospital after testing positive for Covid-19. He passed away on Friday morning following a cardiac arrest," IIT Delhi Director V. Ramgopal Rao said in a statement.

Mohan was the founder of Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP) and was a world-renowned expert on traffic safety.

"It is a huge loss for all the faculty, students and staff at TRIPP, IIT Delhi and all those known to him at the institute and the traffic safety community in India and the rest of the world. We all pray the almighty to give his family the strength to overcome this huge loss," the statement added.

An alumnus of IIT Bombay and University of Michigan, Mohan was known for his research on road safety and work in areas of advancing motorcycle helmet design.

His research significantly helped develop advanced motorcycle helmet design, pedestrian and bicyclist safety and child restraint regulations. The IIT professor had also pushed for more sustainable modes of public transport in India.

A Volvo Chair Professor Emeritus of IIT Delhi, Mohan was part of the BRT project in the national capital.

The project was implemented during the Congress-led Sheila Dikshit government in 2008, but it was scrapped by the Aam Aadmi Party government in 2016, with the claim that it is likely to lead to massive traffic jams instead of easing them.