A major consequence of fast-paced motorisation and expansion of roads and highways in India is the mounting rate of fatalities and injuries from traffic accidents. More than 110,000 people are killed on the roads each year, with the death toll rising by eight per cent annually; the estimate for serious injuries is 1.6 million. India's roads are now rated the worst in the world. Viewed against this background, the road safety initiative launched by the central government and the World Bank to cover 3,000 km of high-risk national and State highways in Assam, Gujarat, and Karnataka is an incremental step to improve the situation. Under the plan, affordable improvements based on the latest technologies will be put in place to reduce crashes and fatalities. The project will draw upon the experience of the International Road Assessment Programme supported by the World Bank in several countries. The investments can improve the safety record of some roads. What is important, however, is for the government to demonstrate the political will to move beyond limited schemes in a few States. The continuing carnage demands a policy of zero tolerance to crashes covering the entire network of 65,000-plus km of national highways and the quarter million km of urban roads. Almost three years ago, the Sundar Committee recommended a national road safety policy but precious little has been done by way of implementation.
There is no justification for delayed action on road safety when the national economic loss on account of death and disability from accidents is officially reckoned to be of the order of Rs.75,000 crore a year. Research on the challenge facing India points to specific areas that need urgent action. Pedestrians, bicyclists, and non-motorised vehicle users constitute 60 per cent of those killed on urban roads; and motorcyclists and small car users make up 25 per cent. Unsurprisingly, there is a disproportionate involvement of trucks and buses in fatal crashes, highlighting a key problem. These data point to the need for segregation of vulnerable road users and appropriate traffic calming measures to reduce risk. Equally, scientific design of roads and vehicles can reduce conflicting interactions among road users and mitigate the consequences of accidents. There should be a sincere attempt to analyse such data emerging from studies conducted by injury prevention researchers in the country. The Sundar Committee has rightly pointed out that the State transport departments, which now play the relatively minor role of licensing and vehicle registration, should be made legally responsible for coordination of multi-sectoral safety. The time to act is now.
Keywords: road safety, road accidents
1. Sadly, only a handful of roads in the country have been laid keeping in mind pedestrian movement and crossing at various points. Lack of any kind of overbridge/subway means that the pedestrian has to try crossing amidst vehicular movement. This, in so many cases, is fatal. 2. Two wheeler riders , who I am guessing would constitute the majority of casualties have to be forced to wear their helmets with a hefty fine if found not wearing one. Riding triples on a motorcycle must be strongly discouraged. As Rahul Yadav says, a major countrywide awareness campaign is required in colleges to inform students about the hazards of rash driving. Another aspect of awareness is informing the public as to how to react in the event of accident to passers by. A quick and effective response will save many lives. 3. We require a major mentality makeover as drivers. The situation on the roads is a dog eat dog one where multiple vehicles rush to occupy a vacant spot on the road often crashing into each other violently. This cut throat attitude won't do us any good. 4. This problem luckily is much more easily solvable than corruption or price rise. Just adhering to the following mantra can save many lives: Leave early. Dive safe. Reach on time.
Immediate actions that can be taken for reducing accidents are as follows.
1.Major accidents involve two wheelers in age bracket of 18-29 years;therefore very first of line of attack is to target this group by means of getting on college campuses and creating awareness about the driving sense and all attempts to be made to discourage use.
2.While working on the first point the government needs to build up the public transport network efficiently by studying the patterns of crowd of this bracket and design it accordingly rather than taking the old approach of expanding to meet the needs which are not that pressing.
3.Steps should be taken to decongest the roads by using awareness as well as legislative and executive powers of the government;thereby creating laws that put a limit on vehicles that could be possibly owned by an individual;which again will serve the purpose of pollution free surrounding as well.
4.Study the pattern of accidents in detail and come with plans on regular basis as to how the appropriate government machinery would respond to it and increasing thereby the efficiency and in return minimise loss of life and property.This will be an ongoing process which will need help of agencies external to the government in providing consulting with regards to the subject matter.
The growing number of fatalities with the growth of infrastructure is also reflective of the lopsided priorities. When a road is built the last priority is given to the hapless pedestrians, who make up most of the fatalities. Take the case of OMR (Rajiv Gandhi Salai) in Chennai. The road was inaugurated with much fanfare a few years back, but still there is no proper footpath for the pedestrians, and the roadsides are still dug up. Not a single day goes by without the news of accidents on the 30 km stretch. Add to that, you also have unscientific issues like the MTC bus stops right at the junctions (Shollinganallur), which causes unnecessary delays. Lanes on the roads are just for decoration. Such a road where the speeds could be more than 80 kmph should also have the pedestrian paths fenced. A change of mindset is required from the planners as well as the growing number of drivers. Public transport should be improved to wean away the unwilling drivers from their cars and motor cycles.
A few milestones to cross before Indian roads are safe enough are as follows (1) About Rs. 1.76 Lakh Crore (same as the “2G amount”) investment to increase the carrying capacity of roads, yielding a several fold increase in the number of lanes each way, in all major avenues, nationwide. Building new highways to towns hitherto using kutcha roads. Highways to bypass cities, towns and villages instead of passing thorough them, Erecting median walls between traffic flows and overpasses for pedestrians (2) A national system of uniform signage that drivers across the country can use to train and educate themselves. The existing signage to be revamped to conform to new standards (3) Upgrading the higher education and training of a new generation of transportation engineers to build roads to higher standards of durability, driveability. This would have to be done with technical aid from advanced countries. (4) Scrapping of State / Central PWDs activities in road construction (lesson from CWG) and turning this over to the private sector similar to what has been done with IT, Communications and Airlines that have shown phenomenal growth under private stewardship (5) Driver education made compulsory to everyone entering the 8th grade – whether they own or drive a vehicle (this is what is done in the US). (6) Mandatory additional driver education for commercial drivers. (7) Enforcement of traffic rules.
Easier said than done.
Disappointing analysis. In my view, the following are the two biggest contributors to the situation: 1. Licences issued without ensuring that the driver is skilled and responsible 2. Lack of strict laws such as penalty points/revoking of licences and absence of enforcement of present laws. But you think 'licencing' is a minor aspect. Try applying for a licence in the UK and you would learn why accidents are so rare.
I wish to make a few points. First, there is very little serious action on the part of authorities to conduct regular eye examinations of truck drivers; it has been found that a majority of them rarely do any checking of their vision, particularly during night, and make accidents. Secondly, the voluntary action on training in safe driving has to be substantially augmented. Thirdly, traffic discipline has to be improved by continuous programmes for the youth, who are prone to reckless driving but who would definitely behave better if guided in a better way.
- Narendra M Apte
sundar committee report has ignored the first and most important thing that Indians do not know how to drive. The report has emphasised on everything but driving sense and skills of Indians. No matter whatever you do the death toll is bound to rise untill Indians learn to drive properly. Untill govt takes actions to teach its citizen about driving skills and being strict in giving Driving licenses
Apart from segregation of traffic, traffic lights, well-regulated and easily recognisable road signs etc., the most important prerequisite for preventing road accidents in India is properly trained drivers with adequate enforcement mechanism to maintain driving standards. At present, anyone who can move the steering wheel considers him/herself an excellent driver capable of driving in any traffic condition. Those who award the driving licences - well, the less said , the better!
Actually, the time has already passed that we acted. Scarcely passes a day sans we view or read a case of fataility on the road. The colossal loss of human lives due to road accidents perturbs no body's conscience. Perhaps, we may be wrong in claiming that we have one! Horrendous accidents killing or maiming school children, invalids, people sleeping in their road-side houses and pedestrians have become a deja vu for us. The issues and reasons involved in these accidnts are manifold, as you have already stated. However, the mother of all reasons, I feel, is corruption and bribes. Manipulation, misuse, abuse of power, nepotism and the like are supportive factors. But when the whole nation is upside down because of corruption in high places, who may bother about it in the ancillary realms?
The road accident problem is acute and the intensity is bound to raise in coming days due to heavy urbanization and economic growth. The research data clearly says about the involvement of heavy commercial vehicles and motorcycles in almost all road accident. The accident-economy is estimated around Rs. 75,000 crore a year which can be commensurate with the cost of new state-of-art super-highways. So, the road safety should be directly linked to modern road-infrastructure and the Government should work out to engage all related stakeholders to build the roads in a modern and scientific ways and to ensure to save the life and property of the common man.
To avoid this road accident people must take precautions while driving.Drivers must give respect to their lives and others lives otherwise this will continue everlasting.
Road safety and condition of Indian roads/pavements go hand in hand. The roads in India today serve as giant dust bin and the absence of civic sense compounds the problem. In a land of such potential with a booming economy the striking visuual for any visitor is the filth that is strewn everywhere. May be maintainance of the Indian roads and "education of the Indian behaviour" should be managed by Western civil bodies.
While government is urged to improve the road infrastructure, may I add that emphasis should also be placed on teaching young children (in all elementary schools) the responsibility of road discipline and respect for other road users. I feel that inclusion of such burning issues in our children's marks-driven curriculum could pay dividends in the long run.
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