On The Challenges To Road Safety In India

The “India Status Report on Road Safety 2024” by IIT Delhi highlights India’s slow progress in reducing road fatalities.

Key Insights from the “India Status Report on Road Safety 2024”

• Data Sources: This report analyses road safety in India, using data from First Information Reports (FIRs) from six States and audits of State compliance with Supreme Court directives on road safety governance. 
• Common Victims and Responsible Vehicles: Pedestrians, cyclists, and motorised two-wheeler riders are the most frequent victims of road accidents.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

• • Trucks are the leading vehicles involved in fatal crashes.
• Helmet Usage: In only seven States, more than 50% of motorised two-wheeler riders wear helmets. 
  • Helmet usage is particularly low in rural areas.
• Audit Coverage and Infrastructure: Only eight States have audited more than half of their National Highway lengths.
• Lack of Basic Traffic Safety Measures: Many States still lack basic traffic safety measures, such as traffic calming, markings, and signage.
• Failure to Meet UN Road Safety Goals: Most Indian States are unlikely to meet the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety goal to halve traffic deaths by 2030.
  • 2021 Road Traffic Injury Statistics: Road traffic injuries were the 13th leading cause of death in India in 2021.
    • Ranked as the 12th leading cause of health loss, measured in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs).
    • Disability-adjusted Life Years (DALYs) are a measure of overall disease burden, combining years lost due to ill-health, disability, or early death
• State-wise Road Safety Performance: Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh have the highest death rates (21.9, 19.2, and 17.6 per 100,000 people, respectively).
  • West Bengal and Bihar have the lowest rates (5.9 per 100,000).
  • Six States (Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu) account for nearly half of all traffic fatalities in India.
• Comparative Road Safety Statistics
  • In 1990, Indians were 40% more likely to die in a road accident compared to individuals in developed countries like Sweden and other Scandinavian nations.
  • By 2021, this disparity had increased to 600%, highlighting a sharp rise in road fatalities in India.

Factors Contributing to Road Accident

• Poor Infrastructure and Faulty Road Design: Many road crashes are a result of faulty road design and engineering.
  • Poor Maintenance of Road Infrastructure also adds to the problem.
• Non-Adherence to Legislation : Ignoring traffic laws significantly increases the risk of accidents.
• Over speeding: Over-speeding constitutes one of the main traffic rule violations associated with accident-related deaths and injuries.
• Lack of awareness on child safety: A 2019 study by SaveLIFE Foundation, for instance, found that nearly 76 per cent of the parents surveyed were unaware of the Child Restraint System (CRS). 
  • Of the respondents who were aware of CRS, only 3.5 per cent had used the same including booster seats at some point. 
• Inconsistent Safety Regulation:  India is home to both domestic and international brands of vehicles with nearly non-existent safety ratings as compared to developed countries.
  • An injured person is 16 times more likely to die in India than in the USA with a similar mechanism of injury.
• Environmental Conditions: Dense fog, strong winds, rainfall can influence the accident rates in the area. 
• Other Contributing Factors: The other factors include- 
  • Driving under the influence of alcohol, 
  • Driving on the wrong side of the road, 
  • Jumping red lights, 
  • Using mobile phones while driving, 
  • Not wearing a securely strapped quality helmet, 
  • Skipping wearing the seat belt and fatigue.

Check Out UPSC NCERT Textbooks From PW Store

Implications of Road Accidents in India

• Demographic Impact: The greatest share of mortality and long-term disability from road traffic crashes affects individuals between 15 and 64 years old.
  • According to WHO, Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5–29 years.
• Social Impact
  • Poverty Cycle: Road crashes disproportionately impact poor households, pushing them into a cycle of poverty and debt, as highlighted by a World Bank report.
    • The average socio-economic impact or cost of every person dying in a road crash was around Rs 91 lakh and it’s close to Rs 3.6 lakh in the case of each victim left with grievous injuries during 2018.
• Economic Impact
  • Economic Cost: Road crashes are estimated to cost the Indian economy between 5 to 7 percent of GDP annually, according to a World Bank study.
  • Insurance Premiums: Increased accident rates lead to higher insurance premiums, impacting the affordability of coverage for individuals and businesses.
• Human Costs
  • Loss and Suffering: Road accidents result in significant loss of life and serious injuries, leading to considerable human suffering, permanent disabilities, emotional trauma and distress for families and communities.
• Healthcare System Strain
  • Public Health Problem: The World Health Organization (WHO) has noted that road accidents are a major public health problem as crashes kill more than 1.25 million people and injure about 50 million people a year, with 90% of such casualties occurring in developing countries.
  • Medical and Rehabilitation Costs: High costs associated with medical treatment, emergency care, and rehabilitation place a significant financial burden on individuals and healthcare systems.

Initiatives to Curb Road Accidents in India

• Engineering Measures: Road safety has been made an integral part of road design at the planning stage. 
• Road Safety Audit (RSA): Road Safety Audit (RSA) of all highway projects has been made mandatory, through third party auditors at all stages i.e., design, construction, operation and maintenance etc. 
• Identification and Rectification of  black spots (accident prone spots) on National Highways: Road Safety Officer (RSO) has been designated to look after RSA, blackspot rectification and other road safety related works. 
• Kooch Kavach: The Centre had proposed replacing steel barriers with bamboo crash barriers in an innovative way to bring down fatalities in road accidents in India.
• Electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) Project: It has been initiated to establish a central repository for reporting, management and analysis of road accidents data across the Country.  
• Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Notification: 
  • Mandatory provision of an airbag for the passenger seated on the front seat of a vehicle. 
  • Children safety measures for children below four years of age, riding or being carried on a motorcycle. 
  • Mandatory Fitments of safety technologies like seat belt reminder, manual override for central locking system, over speed warning system, anti-lock braking system (abs) etc. 
• Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP): Bharat NCAP is an initiative that raises safety standards for motor vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes in India.
  • It empowers consumers by providing a tool to compare the crash safety of different motor vehicles available in the market and assigns star ratings for Adult Occupants (AOP) and Child Occupants (COP) safety based on comprehensive test results.
• Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019: The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 provides for strict penalties for ensuring compliance and enhancing deterrence for violation of traffic rules and strict enforcement through use of technology. 
• Good Samaritan: MoRTH has published rules for the protection of Good Samaritan, who in good faith renders emergency assistance at the scene of an accident to victims. 

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

Way Forward

• Strengthen road safety legislations: The road safety legislations should be strengthened by updating regulations to address emerging risks and enforcing stricter penalties for traffic violations.
• Establish a National Database: Develop a national database specifically for fatal crashes to enhance data collection and analysis.
• Enhance Public Access and Understanding: Ensure public access to the crash database to better understand specific risks and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions implemented by States.
• Improve Infrastructure: There is a need to upgrade road design to include safer crossings, better signage, and pedestrian facilities. Also, regularly maintenance and repairs of roads are needed to reduce hazards and prevent accidents
• Ensure Vehicle Safety: There is a need to enforce high vehicle safety standards and regular inspections, and to promote the adoption of advanced safety technologies, including anti-lock braking and collision avoidance systems.
• Others: 
  • Focus on vulnerable road users by implementing dedicated lanes and safer crossings for pedestrians and cyclists.
  • Strengthening trauma centres is essential for improving response to road crashes and accidents. 
  • Enhance ambulance services and First aid delivery services to the road crash victims during the critical golden hour following accidents. 

DOWNLOAD PDF