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Picture Courtesy:  THEHINDU

Context

Road crashes remain a major problem, resulting in over 170,000 deaths in 2023. The Supreme Court recently highlighted the issue's severity by noting recent accidents in Rajasthan and Telangana.

Road Accidents in India

Accidents and Fatalities: In 2023, India recorded 4.80 lakh road accidents and 1.73 lakh fatalities, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) report.

Global Impact: India accounts for approximately 10% of global road crash fatalities, despite having only 1% of the world's vehicles (Source: World Bank).

Demographic Impact: 67% of road fatalities are individuals aged 18-45 (2023 MoRTH report).

Economic Cost: Road crashes cost the Indian economy an estimated 3% to 5% of GDP annually, according to the World Bank.

Vulnerable Users and High-Risk Zones:

• Vulnerable Road Users (pedestrians, cyclists, two-wheeler riders) suffer over half of the deaths and serious injuries.
• Two-wheeler riders alone contribute 44% of fatalities.

National Highways, which make up less than 5% of the road network, are the site of nearly 55% of deaths (Source: MoRTH).)

What are the reasons for the road accident crisis in India?

Engineering Flaws 

Faulty Road Design: Many roads lack safety due to poor design, including unscientific intersections, inadequate signage, unmarked speed breakers, and sharp, unwarned curves.

Neglect of 'Blackspots': Accident 'blackspots' are often identified but remain unrectified for years due to bureaucratic delays and lack of accountability.

Lack of Safety Audits: Safety audits are required for new highway projects but are rarely conducted for existing roads.

Enforcement Failures

Dilution of the Law: Several states have diluted the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, reducing the increased penalties, driven by fear of public backlash.

Corruption & Flawed Licensing: A survey found over 60% of license holders avoided a proper driving test. (Source: SaveLIFE Foundation).

Lack of Technology: Technology like speed cameras and automatic number plate recognition systems is minimally used.

Awareness Gaps 

Flawed Driver Training: Driver training is largely unregulated, prioritizing basic vehicle operation over defensive driving, road ethics, and traffic rule comprehension.

High-Risk Behaviour: Violations like not wearing helmets or seatbelts, drunken driving, and using mobile phones while driving are common. In 2023, not wearing a helmet resulted in over 54, 000 deaths of two-wheeler riders. (Source: MoRTH)

Ineffective Awareness Campaigns: Fail to sustain behavioral change for a strong road safety culture.

Emergency Care Inadequacies

Delayed Medical Response: The "Golden Hour"—the critical first hour after an accident—is often lost due to ambulance shortages, traffic, and a lack of highway trauma care centers.

Bystander Hesitation: Fear of police trouble and legal issues, coupled with low awareness of the Good Samaritan Law, deters many bystanders from helping accident victims.

Systemic and Institutional Flaws

Lack of a Lead Agency: The Supreme Court and expert committees like the Sundar Committee (2007) recommended a lead agency for road safety. 

• The National Road Safety Board, an advisory body formed under the MV Act 2019, lacks the executive and financial power to enforce its recommendations.

Fragmented Responsibility: Poor inter-departmental coordination across multiple ministries (Transport, Home Affairs, Health) for road safety leads to unclear accountability.

Unscientific Accident Investigation: Superficial crash investigations, with police FIRs blaming "driver negligence" instead of analyzing road design, vehicle condition, or environment, yield flawed data that hinders effective policymaking. 

Way Forward

Systemic Safety (Adopt a 'Safe System' Approach):

• Shift the focus from solely blaming road users to designing a transport system that is inherently forgiving.
• Embrace global best practices, such as Sweden's "Vision Zero," which accepts that humans make mistakes and ensures these errors do not result in death or serious injury.

Empowerment (Strengthen the National Road Safety Board)

• Transform the National Road Safety Board from a mere advisory body into a statutory, empowered agency.
• Grant the board financial autonomy and the authority to issue binding directives to all central and state road and transport agencies.

Enforcement and Compliance (Uniform and Technology-Driven)

• Ensure the strict and uniform implementation of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, across all states.
• Scale up contactless, technology-driven enforcement to improve compliance and reduce opportunities for corruption.

Post-Crash Care (Strengthen and Standardize)

• Establish a comprehensive nationwide network of fully equipped trauma care centres along highways.
• Create a unified national emergency access number with a guaranteed, rapid ambulance response time.

Evidence-Based Action (Data-Driven Interventions)

• Mandate scientific and in-depth investigations for every fatal accident.
• Use the resulting data to accurately identify and rectify dangerous road sections ('blackspots').
• Improve vehicle safety standards through programs like Bharat NCAP, and design highly targeted awareness campaigns.

Conclusion

Addressing the road safety crisis demands a holistic 'Safe System' approach, supported by strong political commitment, institutional empowerment, and vigorous enforcement, to save lives and transform deadly roads into safe corridors of development.

Source: THEHINDU