[Answered] Do you think that reluctance of carmakers to add safety features to Indian cars is increasing the incidents of road accidents in India? What policy measures are required to make Indian roads safer?

India has the highest road fatalities in the world, and the government believes that equipping vehicles with more airbags will help reduce the number of lives lost on the roads. India has 1% of the global vehicle population but its share in road deaths is 11%.

According to WHO, safety features of cars can reduce the road accidents:

• Correct helmet use can lead to a 42% reduction in the risk of fatal injuries and a 69% reduction in the risk of head injuries.
• Wearing a seat-belt reduces the risk of death among drivers and front seat occupants by 45 – 50%, and the risk of death and serious injuries among rear seat occupants by 25%.
• The use of child restraints can lead to a 60% reduction in deaths.
• Without these basic standards the risk of traffic injuries – both to those in the vehicle and those out of it – is considerably increased.

Other major factors responsible for road accidents:

• Over speeding is one of the major causes of road accidents in India.
• Driving under the influence of alcohol, or drugs.
• Reckless driving such as street racing, running red lights, changing lanes too quickly etc.
• Being unaware of rules and regulations on the road or knowingly ignoring them.
• Most of the roads have potholes, without road signs or under construction for a long period.
• The number of accidents occurring due to distracted driving (Reading messages, replying to texts, taking calls, reading, grooming, etc.) has increased in the past decades.

Measures to make Indian roads safer:

• There is need to focus on stricter norms of traffic rule especially on drunk driving, over speeding, helmets, seatbelts and identifying black spots.
• Enforce lane disciplineand automated driving test centers to reduce the margin of human intervention.
• Need to make spaces for all user– pedestrians, cyclists, buses and other vehicles with intuitive road designs and signages, which mark out different zones of road usage.
• The speeding cameras with the automatic number plate recognition system could be helpful.
• The government can implement the important recommendations of the KS Radhakrishnan panel on Road Safety.  a) perform a compulsoryAudit on road safety  b) Creating awareness among people on road safety rules, insurance policies, etc.

It is important that road users and people, in general, are sensitized about the norms and spirit of road safety. In line with reducing road accidents, India has already signed the Brasilia declaration.