Road Safety in India

WHY IN NEWS:

• As many as 151,113 people were killed in road accidents in India during 2019, down 0.20% from the previous year, minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said in a written response at the Lok Sabha on 26^th July 2021.

BACKGROUND:

• Road crashes endanger the lives and livelihoods of millions of road users globally and in India.
• Owing to the epidemic of road crashes United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2011 - 2020 as the "Decade of Action for Road Safety" and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) included two important targets on road safety.
• The risk of a road crash in low-income countries is three times higher than compared to that in high-income countries.

STATISTICS:

• Global:
  • World Bank estimates the total cost of Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) at Rs 12.9 lakh crore for the year 2016.
  • WHO’s global status report on road safety states that 1.25 million people die due to road accident every year, making it a global health hazard. It is also the leading cause of death among people aged between 15 and 29.
• India:
  • As of 2021, India accounts for nearly 11 per cent of all road deaths in the world
  • As per Ministry of Road Transport and Highways data >> the year 2017 saw 4.65 lakh road accidents that killed 1.48 lakh and injured 4.71 lakh people.

SIGNIFICANCE OF ROAD SAFETY

• Socio-economic costs
  • As per World Banks estimation >> India loses 3.14% of its GDP due to road accidents, most of which are preventable.
  • Road traffic injuries are one of the leading causes of death, disabilities and hospitalization in the country imposing huge socio-economic costs.
• Working age population is the most vulnerable group:
  • The age profile of road accidents victims in year 2016 reveals that the productive age group of 18 to 35 years accounts for the high share of 46.3 percent and the age group of 18-45 accounted for a share of 68.6% in the total road accident fatalities
• Differential impact:
  • The World Bank estimates recognized that RTIs affect the developed and developing world in different ways, it also impacts poor households and disadvantaged sections of the population within developing countries differently.
• Dominant mode of transportation
  • Road transport is the dominant mode of transport in India, in terms of traffic share and in terms of contribution to the national economy.
• Ever increasing road infrastructure:
  • With increasing population growth and economic development in India >> the number of vehicles and the length of road network have increased tremendously over the years.

CAUSES OF ROAD ACCIDENTS

• Capacity is not meeting with increasing demand:
  • Increasing urbanization and economic growth is not translating to proportionate increase in capacity of roads in India >> hence congestion of vehicles >> prone to accidents
• Poor enforcement of laws:
  • India’s traffic laws are stricter than those of other countries but these laws are not enforced.
• Infrastructural deficits:
  • Pathetic conditions of roads and vehicles, poor visibility and poor road design and engineering – including quality of material and construction.
• Lack of awareness and improper behavior:
  • Lack of precautions by road users such as not wearing helmets, triple-riding, over speeding, drunk driving
  • Distraction while driving like talking over mobile phones while driving
• Inadequate driver training:
  • In 2018, in 26% of all road accidents, drivers who were in an accident did not have a valid license or were driving with a learner’s license.
  • Moreover, poor licensing mechanism means >> issuance of driving licences are not a sign that the driver is qualified

INITIATIVES:

• Legislative and policy measures:
  • Motor Vehicles Act
    • The Act came into force in 1989 and was amended in 2019
    • The Act provides for grant of licenses and permits related to motor vehicles, standards for motor vehicles, and penalties for violation of these provisions. It salient provisions are:
    • Compensation for road accident victims:
      • The central government will develop a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during golden hour.
    • Compulsory insurance:
      • The Act requires the central government to constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India.
    • Good samaritans:
      • The Act defines a good samaritan as a person who renders emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim at the scene of an accident.
    • Recall of vehicles:
      • The Act allows the central government to order for recall of motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or the driver, or other road users.
    • Offences and penalties:
      • The Amendment in 2019 increases penalties for several offences under the Act.
    • Taxi aggregators:
      • The Bill defines aggregators as digital intermediaries or market places which can be used by passengers to connect with a driver for transportation purposes (taxi services).
      • These aggregators will be issued licenses by state
      • Further, they must comply with the Information Technology Act, 2000.
  • National Road Safety Policy
    • It outlines the policy initiatives to be framed / taken by the Government at all levels to improve the road safety activities in the country
• Road safety information database
  • It will provide assistance to local bodies, Union Territories and States to improve the quality of crash investigation and of data collection, transmission and analysis
• Institutions:
  • National Road Safety Board
    • The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 provides for a creation of National Road Safety Board.
    • It aims to oversee the issues related to road safety and evolve effective strategies for implementation of the road safety policy.
    • It will look into improving road infrastructure and adding new innovations for traffic control.
    • Rural areas and hilly regions are often ignored when it comes to road planning so the board will also focus on road construction and traffic management in villages.
  • National Road Safety Council
    • It is an advisory body which was established under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 with the objective of improving road safety aspects in the road transport sector.
  • Transport Development Council
    • It is the highest body to advise the Government on all matters relating to roads and road transport.
• National Road Safety Fund
  • To finance road activities through the allocation of a certain percentage of the cess on gasoline and diesel.
• Infrastructure development:
  • Bharatmala Pariyojana
    • It aims to optimise the efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps through effective interventions
  • Dedicated Freight Corridor Project:
    • The Indian Railways' quadrilateral linking Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Howrah, known as Golden Quadrilateral; will decongest already saturated road network and promote shifting of freight transport to more rail transport
• Judiciary:
  • Supreme Court had set up KS Radhakrishnan panel on road safety in 2014.
  • The main recommendation of the committee was
    • Ban on the sale of alcohol on highways (both state and national) to restrain drunk driving.
    • The states were directed to implement laws on wearing helmets.
    • Audit of road safety to be implemented by states to ensure the safety standards in the design, construction, and maintenance of roads.
• International initiatives:
  • Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety
    • It is adopted at the second global high-level conference on road safety held in Brazil. India signed the Brasilia declaration
    • It lays down recommendations on strengthening existing legislations, adopting sustainable transport and strengthening post-crash response.
    • Through the Brasilia Declaration Countries plan to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3.6: By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.
  • United Nations has also declared 2010-2020 as the decade of action for Road Safety.

WAY FORWARD:

• Ensure safer road infrastructure:
  • The Government should take measures to review standards pertaining to safety in the design of rural and urban roads and bring them in consonance with international best practices keeping in view Indian traffic conditions.
• Use of technology
  • Continuing application of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) under a national framework to establish a safe and efficient transport system should be encouraged.
• Raise awareness about road safety issues
  • The Government would increase its efforts to promote awareness about the various aspects of road safety, the social and economic implications of road accidents and what needs to be done to curb the rising menace of road accidents.
• Safer vehicles:
  • The Government should take steps to ensure that safety features are built in at the stage of design, manufacture, usage, operation and maintenance of both motorized and non-motorized vehicles in line with international standards and practices in order to minimize adverse safety and environmental effects of vehicle operation on road users (including pedestrians and bicyclists) and infrastructure.
• Safer drivers
  • The Government will strengthen the system of driver licensing and training to improve the competence and capability of drivers.
• Research for road safety:
  • The Government will encourage increased activity in programmes of road safety research by identifying priority areas, funding research in those areas adequately and establishing centers of excellence in research and academic institutions.
• National road safety plan by Bureau of Police Research and Development suggests the following:
  • Dedicated and separate agency for strict enforcement of the traffic violations across India, especially on National Highways.
  • Proposed National Highways Road Safety Police, state highway road safety police for strict enforcement on national highways.
  • Use of Artificial Intelligence techniques to communicate, monitor, operate and manage the highways in a sensible and organized way etc.
• Emergency medical services for road accidents
  • The Government will strive to ensure that all persons involved in road accidents benefit from speedy and effective trauma care and management.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. ‘Road accidents have now become a major public health issue, and the victims are mainly the poor and vulnerable people’. In this context analyze the steps taken by government to improve road safety in India?