Time for India to learn from best traffic practices abroad

Over 1.3 million people die and nearly 50 million are left disabled in road accidents annually across the globe, with more than half of the fatalities in the age group 15 to 45.
About 17 persons lose their lives every hour and 53 accidents take place every hour in the country | express
About 17 persons lose their lives every hour and 53 accidents take place every hour in the country | express

Over 1.3 million people die and nearly 50 million are left disabled in road accidents annually across the globe, with more than half of the fatalities in the age group 15 to 45.India has seen over one million people losing their lives on roads during the last decade. Data also reveals that 72 per cent of those killed in 2017 were in the productive 18-45 years age group.

According to the report Road Accidents in India-2017, published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, a total of 4,64,910 road accidents were reported by states and Union Territories in 2017. As many as 1,47,913 people lost lives while another 4,70,975 injured in a total of 1,34,796 fatal accidents in 2017, which is 0.9 per cent lower than the previous year.The number of people killed in road accidents during 2017 is less than that of 2016 by 1.9 per cent. This data is under-reported according to the experts.
Tamil Nadu has reported the maximum number of road accidents in 2017, while the number of people killed is highest in Uttar Pradesh.

The number of accidents as well as fatalities in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar went up in 2017 as compared to the previous year. Delhi tops the list of top 10 Indian cities with the most number of road crashes followed by Chennai, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra, Hyderabad, and Pune.It is estimated that loss of human life in India is around 3 per cent of our GDP. About 17 persons lose their lives every hour and 53 accidents take place every hour.

A lack of education among road users, casual approach on traffic enforcement, poor road geometrics, unsafe vehicle movement, overloading of freight vehicles, overcrowding of public transport, fatigue, socio-economic factors are some of the major factors responsible for road accidents in urban areas.Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal have reported a considerable drop in road accidents and fatalities in 2017.  On the other hand, it is not clear why Haryana saw 5,120 deaths in 11,258 accidents in 2017 - a slight increase from 2016 - despite adoption of the Vision Zero Programme.

Though we have a target to reduce road fatalities to half by 2020 as per the UN Decade of Action, we are lagging far behind as per the present trend.The Ministry has evolved a multi-dimensional road safety strategies based on 4 ‘E’s viz. Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care. Road design using a road safety audit has been considered as an integral part of road safety.National highways are accorded high priority with rectification of black spots. In addition, the Supreme Court has issued 25 directions for the improvement of road safety.

A capacity building programme along with strategies for awareness in road safety has been initiated by the Asian Institute of Transport to train engineering and non-engineering professionals in collaboration with the ministry.

It is worth mentioning that countries such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, England, Wales, Scotland, Sweden, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, and Denmark have shown a remarkable drop in road accidents by adopting strong road safety policies coupled with sound and effective road safety strategies and strict implementation.

In Sweden, investments were made in the road safety sector for reducing the risk of serious human injury through strong advocacy of the Vision Zero road safety programme. 

The lesson learnt from best practices in these countries may provide a great impetus towards the reduction of road accidents in India.

Prof P K Sarkar
Director, Transportation, Asian Institute of Transport Development, New Delhi

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