A two-day meet on road accidents and vehicle safety measures at the Vellore Institute of Technology revealed that India witnessed one road accident every minute and one life was claimed every 3.7 minutes, one of the highest in the world. As the numbers of such fatalities continued to rise, the meet emphasised the need to spread awareness about the importance of road safety in the country.
The meet was organised by the School of Mechanical and Building Sciences of VIT University in association with the Indian Institute of Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors (IIISLA).
VIT chancellor G Viswanathan, in his presidential address, urged the government to take proactive steps and stringent measures to enforce traffic regulations to prevent road accidents. “A majority of the road accident victims are the breadwinners and this nation cannot afford to lose its workforce,” he pointed out. He also emphasised the need for creating public awareness to respect road rules.
President of IIISLA, K Elango, pointed out that IIISLA, who bridged clients with insurance companies, distributed Rs 4,000 crore through claim settlements last year.