Road Safety in India – Explained, pointwise

Introduction

The National Crimes Records Bureau released the report on Accidental Deaths in India (2021) in the last week of August 2022. The Report highlighted that the number of fatalities due to road accidents, 155,622 in 2021, had reached the highest level since 2014. As concerns were being raised on the spike in the number of death, came the sad news of demise of industrialist Cyrus Mistry along with a fellow passenger, in a road accident. Police sources were quoted as saying that the passengers were not wearing their seat belts. These developments have brought the issue of road safety to limelight. The tragic and avoidable accident indicate lack awareness about the car safety deployments and their enforcement by road safety authorities. Despite the innumerable road safety campaigns and awareness drives, the road safety remains poor in India. India is ranked among the top countries in terms of accident related deaths. ~430 lives are lost daily due to road accidents.

What are latest data numbers on Road Accidents in India?

According to the NCRB data, over 1.55 lakh lives were lost in road crashes across India in 2021 or 18 deaths every single hour. This is the highest death in any year. The number of accidents and deaths had decreased in 2020 due to lockdowns and travel restrictions. The number of accidents in 2021 were less than pre-pandemic levels, but the number of deaths have risen.

Source: Indian Express

States of Tamil Nadu (57,000), Madhya Pradesh (49,500), Uttar Pradesh (36,500), Kerala (33,000) and Maharashtra (30,000) reported high number of accidents. Deaths per 100 km of National Highways have come down from 44 in 2018 to 40 in 2021.

Two-wheelers are most susceptible to fatalities due to road accidents. Of the total deaths in road accidents, 44.5% were riders of ‘two-wheelers’ followed by cars (15.1%), trucks/lorries (9.4%) and buses (3%).

According to World Bank report (‘Traffic Crash Injuries And Disabilities: The Burden on India Society‘) India accounts for 11% of the global death in road accidents despite having just 1% of the world’s vehicles. The road accidents costs INR 6 lakh crore or 3.14% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). (However,  the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) estimates the socio-economic costs of road crashes at INR 1.5 lakh crore, or ~0.77% of the GDP).

The report pointed out that there is a distinct correlation between socio-economic status and road use patterns in low- and middle-income countries like India and ‘poor people are more likely to be involved in a road traffic crash‘.

According to an IIT Delhi report, while the national highways constitute only 2% of the total length of roads in India, they account for ~35% of the fatalities.

Source: Mint

What are the reasons behind high number of road accidents and fatalities in India?

Human Factors: According to the NCRB report, most of the accidents and fatalities are attributable to human factors. These include (a) Over-speeding, (b) Careless driving like jumping a red light, driving or overtaking on the wrong side of the road, talking on the mobile phone while driving etc.; (c) Neglecting safety measures like not wearing helmets or seat belts; (d) Driving under influence of alcohol or drugs.

Source: Mint

In addition, there is low awareness/adherence to safety norms e.g., in a survey it was found that only 7% of responds wore rear seat belts. Only 28% of the respondents were aware that use of seat belt is mandatory. A WHO report (2022) noted that safety belts can reduce death and serious injuries to passengers in the back seat by 25%.

Source: The Times of India

Fewer deaths are attributable to external or weather conditions or mechanical defects in vehicles e.g., the highest number of road accidents and deaths are recorded between 6 pm and 9 pm on average on a given day, and in the months of January and December in a given month (due to low visibility due to fog).

Road Design: Many roads are not designed from the perspective of safety and accident prevention. Many roads have multiple black spots. Black spots are road locations that have a high number of crashes e.g., sharp corners in a straight road, a hidden junction on the fast road, etc. A survey found out that, these black spots are the prime location for 90% of the road accidents.

Similarly, there are no separate lanes for 2-wheelers or very heavy vehicles. Urban areas lack separate lanes for pedestrians.

Additionally, roads often have potholes or uneven surfaces due to poor upkeep which are cause of crashes and fatalities.

Poor Quality of Vehicular design: Vehicles in India lack safety features of global standards e.g., most low end cars don’t have airbags e.g., In 2014, the Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) revealed that some of India’s top-selling car models have failed the frontal impact crash test. Car manufacturers argue that price conscious Indian consumers are more focused on mileage rather than safety norms. So there is a compromise on safety features to keep the cost low.

According to a road safety report prepared by the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre, IIT Delhi, in November 2021, estimated that ‘air-bag deployment reduced mortality by 63%; lap-shoulder-belt use reduced mortality by 72%, and combined air-bag and seatbelt use reduced mortality by more than 80%’.

Post-accident factors: Absence of quick response (like immediate information to medical authorities) and lack of emergency medical facilities increase the number of fatalities. In addition, possibility of harassment by law-enforcement agencies (like accident related investigations) deter by-passers to respond.

What steps have been taken to address issues related to Road Safety?

The Government formulated the National Road Safety Policy (NRSP) in 2010 based on the recommendations of S Sundar Committee. The Government is committed to to raise awareness about safety issues and extend assistance to the State Governments and local administrations in ensuring road safety. Under the policy, the Government reviewed standards that govern road design and the maintenance of vehicles. National Road Safety Council has been created to supervise matters related to road safety.

District Road Safety Committees (DRSC) have been established in each district under the Section 215 of the Motor Vehicle Act of 1988. The DRSCs are tasked with conducting an ongoing analysis of the district’s traffic collisions and gathering information on incidents, their causes, accident sites, and victim information. They are also in-charge of creating a district road safety plan, an emergency medical plan, and making sure that ambulances were accessible and connected to hospitals.

The Government amended the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, in 2019 and enhanced the road safety measures: (a) Creating a National Road Safety Board to advise the government on road and traffic management (Notified in September 2021); (b) Higher fines for traffic crimes; (c) Recalling defective vehicles, dangerous for the environment and people; (d) Creating a Solatium Fund for victims of hit-and-run accidents; (e) Punishment to the owner for violations committed by Juvenile; (f) Regulated corruption by Automated testing for driver’s licence and fitness certificate (FC).

The Act also protects Good Samaritans from civil and criminal liability. In October 2021, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) issued Guidelines for the Scheme for grant of Award to the Good Samaritans who save the life of a victim from a fatal accident involving a motor vehicle. A Good Samaritan is a person who voluntarily comes forward to administer emergency care to a person injured in an accident, or crash, or emergency situation. In 2016, the Supreme Court of India gave “force of law” to the guidelines for the protection of Good Samaritans issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Good Samaritan Law protects Good Samaritans from harassment e.g., Police should not involve the Good Samaritans for investigation or the Hospitals should not refuse to treat the accident victims and should not charge for First Aid.

Apart from this, the Government has taken several other steps like: (a) Front and side crash tests for new car models came into force in 2017; (b) New cars are required to have airbags fitted as standard; (c) The government notified the guidelines for road safety audits on National Highways; (d) Installation of Roadside Safety Crash barriers and speed warning boards; (e) A mobile app ‘Sukhad Yatra 1033′ has been launched which enables highways users to report potholes and other safety hazards on National Highways including accidents; (f) Efforts are on for rectification of identified Black spots; (g) Road Safety Audits are being carried out at all stages of development of the highway i.e. design, construction and operation stages; (h) Facilities such as Foot Over bridges & underpasses are being provided wherever required for safe crossing of pedestrians and other road users; (i) Road Safety Week is observed every calendar year for spreading awareness about safer behavior of road users on National Highways.

The Ministry has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on 4 ‘E’s Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care.

What more steps can be taken going ahead?

First, There is a need to enhance vehicle safety features in India. Vehicles in India must conform to global best standards e.g., The European Union’s General Safety Regulation requires new vehicles to incorporate advanced emergency braking technology that launches automatically when a collision is imminent and intelligent speed assistance to reduce speed. Such standards must be incorporated in India too.

Second, The Government can implement the important recommendations of the KS Radhakrishnan panel on Road Safety. The important recommendations were: (a) State Governments to perform a compulsory Audit on road safety to ensure adequate safety standards in the design, construction, and maintenance of roads; (b) Creating awareness among people on road safety rules, insurance policies, etc.; (c) Providing enough compensation to victims on time.

Third, There is a need to review standards pertaining to safety in the design of rural and urban roads and bring them into consonance with international best practices, keeping in view traffic conditions in India. There can be separate lanes for 2-wheelers and heavy vehicles. Rules related to lane-driving must be implemented stringently with heavy fines for violations.

Fourth, there is a need to create greater awareness among the general public regarding road safety. Rash driving, lack of respect for traffic rules, low awareness about safety measures (like wearing seat belts) are symptomatic of casual attitude of Indians towards safety (self as well as of the others). Apart from this enforcement of rules must be made more stringent with revocation of driving license in case of multiple violations of rules.

Conclusion

Road accidents have remained a silent killer in India. Despite high number of accidents, road safety has remained low policy priority for the Governments. Perhaps the recent developments can nudge the Government and the general public in the right direction. The Government has already announced strict penalties for not wearing rear seat belts. However, the approach to road safety has to be proactive, rather than reactive. The public has as much role to play as the Government. A concerted and focused effort can help bring down road accidents and help save precious lives. SDG target 3.6 calls to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes. SDG target 11.2 calls for improving road safety and access to public transport. The Government must take all possible steps to meet the targets.

Syllabus: GS III, Infrastructure – Roads

Source: Indian Express, The Hindu, The Times of India, ORF, Mint