IMPORTANCE OF ROAD SAFETY IN INDIA164.100.47.193/Refinput/New_Reference_Notes/English/Road...INTRODUCTION Road Safety is a multi-sectoral and multi-dimensional issue. It incorporates

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IMPORTANCE OF ROAD SAFETY IN INDIA

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IMPORTANCE OF ROAD SAFETY IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION

Road Safety is a multi-sectoral and multi-dimensional issue. It incorporates the

development and management of road infrastructure, provision of safer vehicles, legislation

and law enforcement, mobility planning, provision of health and hospital services, child

safety, urban land use planning etc. In other worlds, its ambit spans engineering aspects of

both, roads and vehicles on one hand and the provision of health and hospital services for

trauma case (in post-crash scenario) on the other. Road safety is a shared, multi-sectoral,

responsibility of the government and a range of civil society stakeholders. The success of

road safety strategies in all countries depends upon a broad base of support and common

action from all stakeholders1.

GLOBAL SCENARIO

The UN General Assembly has adopted 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road

Safety and set a goal for reducing fatalities from road accidents by 50 percent during the

period recognizing the severe impact of road accidents on global health. Every year about

1.2 million people die and 50 million get affected in road accidents globally losing 1.2 trillion

US Dollars in these accidents. According to the World Health Organization unless concerted

action is taken, road traffic injuries are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death in

the world by 20302.

ROAD ACCIDENT SCENARIO IN INDIA

Improving the road safety scenario in the country is one of the important and

challenging activities of the Road Transport Division. Development of a National Highways

(NHs) Network in the country encompassing roads of international standards for

uninterrupted flow of traffic with enhanced safety features. Evolving policies for efficient and

Safe transportation through the Road Network and facilitating their implementation, Establish

arrangement for review of Road Transport requirements keeping in view the long term

1 India, Planning Commission, Report of the Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Management, 2007, p.1

2 PIB, dated 21.5.2014

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perspective, Improving road safety scenario in the country, Computerization of the procedure

for regulating motor vehicular traffic and Strengthening public transport system3.

RECENT TRENDS

During the year 2013, there was a decline in the number of road accidents and also in

the number of persons killed and injured in road accidents. With a decline of 2.9 per cent, the

reduction in the number of persons injured in road accidents during 2013 was the most

pronounced. Despite the reduction in the number of persons killed during 2013, the accident

severity (number of persons killed per 100 accidents) increased as compared to the previous

year as shown in the following Table4.

Road Accident Parameters: 2012 and 2013

Parameter 2012 2013 % change over previous year

Accidents 4,90,383 4,86,476 -0.8

Person Killed 1,38,258 1,37,572 -0.5

Person Injured 5,09,667 4,94,893 -2.9

Accident Severity* 28.2 28.3 0.3

* No. of persons killed per 100 accidents

The total number of road accidents declined from 4,90,383 in 2012 to 4,86,476 in

2013. Not only was there a decline in the absolute number of road accidents in the country

during 2013, as compared to 2012, there was also a decline in the number of road accidents

per lakh population from 39.9 in 2012 to 38.9 in 20135.

During 2013, a total of 4,86,476 road accidents were reported by all States/Union

Territories. Of these, about 25.2 per cent (1,22,589) were fatal accidents. The number of

persons killed in road accidents were 1,37,572 i.e. an average of one fatality per 3.5

accidents. The proportion of fatal accidents in total road accidents has consistently increased

since 2003 from 18.1 per cent to 25.2 per cent in 2013. The severity of road accidents,

measured in terms of persons killed per 100 accidents had been showing a steady increase

since 2003 from 21.1 to 28.6 in 2011.It declined for the first time to 28.2 during 2012 over the

previous year and increased slightly to 28.3 during 2013. The number of road accidents, road

3 India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Annual Report 2014-15, p. 110

4 India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Road Accidents in India, 2013, p. 2

5 Ibid

-3-

accident fatalities and persons injured in road accidents in India during 2003 to 2013 is

shown in Table given below6:

Number of Road Accidents and Number of Persons Involved: 2003-2013

Year Number of Accidents Number of Persons Accident

Severity* Total Fatal Killed Injured

2003 4,06,726 73,589 (18.1) 85,998 435,122 21.1

2004 4,29,910 79,357 (18.5) 92,618 464,521 21.5

2005 4,39,255 83,491 (19.0) 94,968 465,282 21.6

2006 4,60,920 93,917 (20.4) 105,749 496,481 22.9

2007 4,79,216 1,01,161 (21.1) 114,444 513,340 23.9

2008 4,84,704 1,06,591 (22.0) 119,860 523,193 24.7

2009 4,86,384 1,10,993 (22.8) 125,660 515,458 25.8

2010 4,99,628 1,19,558 (23.9) 134,513 527,512 26.9

2011 4,97,686 1,21,618 (24.4) 1,42,485 5,11,394 28.6

2012 4,90,383 1,23,093 (25.1) 1,38,258 5,09,667 28.2

2013 4,86,476 1,22,589(25.2) 1,37,572 4,94,893 28.3 Source: Information supplied by States/UTs (Police Departments). Figures within parentheses indicate share of fatal accidents to total accidents. * Accident Severity : Number of persons killed per 100 accidents

National Highways accounted for a share of 28.1 per cent in total road accidents and

33.2 per cent in total number of persons killed in road accidents during 2013. The State

Highways accounted for a share of 25.6 per cent of total accidents and 29.6 per cent in the

total number of persons killed in road accidents during same period of time7.

Number of Accidents, Persons Killed & Injured as per Road Classification (2013)

Road Classification National Highways State Highways Other Roads

No. of Accidents 1,36,786 (28.1) 1,24,358 (25.6) 2,25,332 (46.3)

No. of Persons Killed 45,612 (33.2) 40,768 (29.6) 51,192 (37.2)

No. of Persons Injured 1,43,107 (28.9) 1,36,790 (27.6) 2,14,996(43.5)

Note: Figures within parentheses indicate share in total accidents, killed and injured in the respective road categories.

6 Ibid

7 Ibid

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Total number of Road accidents, total number of Persons killed and injured, Road

accidents on National Highways and different causes of road accidents from 2010-13 are

given in Annexures I-V.

Allocation of Funds

The proposed allocation in the Annual Plan 2015-16 is Rs. 803 crore for Road

Transport. The Ministry furnished the following information on the expenditure

incurred on various schemes under road transport sector during 2014-15 and the

allocation made during 2015-168:-

Name of the Scheme 2014-15 2015-16

BE RE Expenditure BE

Road Safety

Training to drivers 15.00

15.00

14.99 15.00

Publicity & Awareness 42.00

42.00 40.34 42.00

National Highway Accident Relief 25.00 18.01 14.69

25.00

Service Scheme

Road Safety & Pollution testing equipment

5.00 5.00 0.15 5.00

National Database network

National Database 10.00 25.16

25.16 10.00

Data collection, research & development

2.00 2.00 0.00 2.00

Other Schemes

Setting up of Inspection and Maintenance Centre

30.00 22.33 20.53 30.00

Improving and strengthening of Public transport system

20.00 20.00 12.98 20.00

National Road Safety Board

1.00 0.50 0.00 1.00

Safety of Women on Public Transport

50.00 30.50 1.43 653.00

Total 200.00 180. 50 130.27 803.00

8 India, Rajya Sabha Secretariat , 220

th Report on Demands for Grants (2015-16) pertaining to the Ministry of Road

Transport and Highways, 2015, pp. 33-34

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ASPECTS OF ROAD SAFETY

The Ministry has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety

based on four E’s viz., Engineering, Enforcement, Education and Emergency care which are

also known as four Es of Road Safety. The engineering related aspects are being taken care

of at the design stage of the National Highway itself. The Enforcement aspect of the Road

Safety is vested with the respective States/Union Territories. The Education aspect of Road

Safety is taken care by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways through campaigns in print

and electronic media. Emergency care is provided through multiple agencies such as

concessionaries, private / public ambulances services and designated trauma centres9.

STEPS TO PREVENT ROAD ACCIDENTS

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has taken a number of steps to prevent road

accidents as per details mentioned below10:

i). The Government has approved a National Road Safety Policy. This Policy outlines various policy measures such as promoting awareness, establishing road safety information data base, encouraging safer road infrastructure including application of intelligent transport, enforcement of safety laws etc.

ii). The Ministry has requested all States/UTs for setting up of State Road Safety Council and District Road Safety Committees, if not already done, and to hold their meetings regularly so that the right message to curb the menace of road accidents reaches all concerned and due priority is given to road safety.

iii). It is ensured that road safety remains the integral part of road design at planning stage.

iv). Various steps are being taken to enhance road safety such as road furniture, road

markings/road signs, introduction of Highway Traffic Management System using Intelligent Transport System, enhancement of discipline among contractors during construction, road safety audit on selected stretches, have been undertaken by National Highways Authority of India.

v). Refresher training to Heavy Motor Vehicle drivers in the unorganized sector being implemented by the Ministry since 1997-98 under plan activities.

vi). Setting up of Driving Training School in the States by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

9 Op.cit., Annual Report, p. 18

10 Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 741 dated 2.3.2015

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vii). Publicity campaign on road safety awareness both through the audio-visual and print media by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

viii). Tightening of safety standards of vehicles like Seat Belts, Power-steering, rear view Mirror etc.

ix). Providing cranes and ambulances to various State Governments/NGOs under National

Highway Accident Relief Service Scheme. National Highways Authority of India also provides ambulances at a distance of 50 Km. on each of its completed stretches of National Highways under its Operation & Maintenance contracts.

x). Widening and improvements of National Highways from 2 lanes to 4 lanes and 4 lanes to 6 lanes etc.

National Road Safety Policy

A Committee under the Chairmanship of Shri S. Sundar, Former Secretary, Ministry

of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH), was constituted in the year 2005 to deliberate

and make recommendations on creation of a dedicated body on road safety and traffic

management. The Committee was also subsequently requested to finalise a draft National

Road Safety Policy for consideration of the Government. The Committee while submitting its

report in February, 2007 inter alia, recommended a draft National Road Safety Policy11.

The Union Cabinet, in its meeting held on 15.03.2010, approved the proposal of the

Ministry to adopt the National Road Safety Policy. The National Road Safety Policy outlines

the policy initiatives to be framed/taken by the Government at all levels to improve the road

safety activities in the country. Broadly, it aims12 –

To promote awareness about road safety issues.

To establish a road safety information database.

To ensure safer road infrastructure by way of designing safer roads, encouraging application of Intelligent Transport System etc.

To ensure fitment of safety features in the vehicles at the stage of designing, manufacture, usage, operation and maintenance.

To strengthen the system of driver licensing and training to improve the competence of drivers.

11

Lok Sabha Unstarred Question NO. 3994 dated 18.2.2014 12

Ibid

-7-

To take measures to ensure safety of vulnerable road users.

To take appropriate measures for enforcement of safety laws.

To ensure emergency medical attention for road accident victims.

To encourage human resource development and R&D for road safety.

To strengthen the enabling legal, institutional and financial environment for promoting road safety culture in the country

The policy also envisages setting up of a dedicated agency namely National road

Safety & Traffic Management Board to oversee the road safety activities in the country. The

important schemes on road safety operated by the Ministry include Publicity measures and

awareness campaign on Road Safety, Scheme for setting up institutes for driving training,

Refresher training of drivers in unorganized sector and Human Resource Development,

National Highways Accident Relief Service Scheme (NHARSS), Setting up of inspection and

certification centres and Road Safety & Pollution Testing Equipments and Programme

Implementation13.

ROAD TRANSPORT AND SAFETY BILL, 2014 The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways proposes to replace the "Motor Vehicle

Act, 1988" with "Road Transport and Safety Bill, 201514. It aims to ensure effective, timely

and sustainable prevention of those road practices which are detrimental to public health and

road safety. The salient features of the Road Transport and Safety Bill 2015 include Safety in

construction, Design, Maintenance and Use of motor vehicles and roads as a major

component. The Bill provides for more stringent penalties to offenders. A graded penalty

point system would now act as a deterrent and improve traffic condition whereas electronic

detection and centralized information of offences would facilitate to identify repeat-

offenders15.

In the Consultative Committee meeting, convened by the Ministry of Road Transport

and Highways welcomed the Members of the Parliament, the Bill in its spirit while making

13

Op.cit., Annual Report, pp. 37-38 14

Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1221 dated 9.3.2015 15

PIB dated 5.2.2015

-8-

suggestions to make it more effective. Some of the measures the members of the Committee

suggested included Retrofitting of cameras in public transport vehicles by the manufacturers,

Establishment of single level portal for seamless payment across the States, Construction of

sufficient number of underpasses, Arrangement for proper electrification around accident

prone areas, Setting up trauma centres at designated places and taking height and not the

age of a child into consideration for the front–seat limitation16.

The Bill inter-alia, seeks to achieve the following objectives17:

(i) To set up an independent agency for Road Safety. (ii) Simplified applications and issuance procedures for driver licencing system. (iii) Unified registration in a dynamic information system (iv) Private sector participation in establishing fitness certification centers. (v) Provisions for enforcement of modern safety technology (vi) Combination of penalties and fines to enforce traffic rules, strict enforcement for driving

under the influence of alcohol and drugs, electronic detection and centralized offences information to identify repeat offenders.

(vii) Promoting eco friendly public transportation for improving road safety, cost effectiveness and transport efficiency.

(viii) Creations of motor accident funds for immediate relief to accident victims.

Vision of the BIll18

It also proposes to create a National Road Transport and Multimodal Coordination

Authority with the aim to coordinate the issues of road transport and other mode of transport.

16

Ibid 17

Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 881 dated1.12.14 18

India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Progressive Year Book, 2015, p. 29

-9-

Some of the other provisions which will be a part of the Bill are on Public Passenger

Transport and Road Safety and Traffic Management. The Bill will also cater to issues related

to infrastructure and multimodal facilitation and insurance of motor vehicles against third party

risk. There will also be special tribunals which will be created for claims and claim

settlements19.

The draft bill incorporates the best practices in six advanced nations — US, Japan,

Germany, UK, Singapore and Australia. It has been drafted with the help of the World Bank,

World Health Organisation and various reputed Law firms, aims to reduce the number of

deaths in road accidents in a year by half, among other things. A dedicated force for National

Highway Traffic regulation and protection will also be carved out. This force will be actively

deployed on highways to monitor and check the implementation of national highway traffic

rules20.

CONCLUSION

Road traffic accidents are amenable to remedial action. Many a countries have curbed

the menace of road accidents by adopting a multipronged approach to road safety that

encompasses broad range of measures, such as, traffic management, design and quality of

road infrastructure, application of intelligent transport system, safer vehicles, law

enforcement, effective and quick accident response and care etc. The Government alone

cannot tackle road safety problems. There is a need for active involvement of all stake-

holders to promote policy reform and implementation of road safety measures21.

In India, criminal apathy towards road safety risk must stop. It is time to reserve space

for walkers, cyclists and public transport users on roads. Urgent legal reforms are needed to

comprehensively enforce safety guidelines to achieve zero fatality. India needs a Central

legislation to notify the revised Indian Road Congress guidelines and make its

implementation mandatory across the country. Pre- and post-construction safety audits of

roads must become mandatory for all road projects. All public transport plans must integrate

19

Financial Express, New Delhi, dated 13.9.2014 20

Ibid, dated 26.6.15 21

Pawan Deshpande, Road Safety and Accident Prevention in India - A Review in International Journal of Advanced Engineering Technology, 2014. p. 1

-10-

plans on safety and accessibility of roads. The need is to design cities for people, not

vehicles22.

The Collective efforts of all stakeholders are bound to make significant impact on

making roads safer, arresting human suffering due to road related mishaps and achieving

goals set by UN23.

22

www.downtoearth.org.in (Kundal Pandey, Emergency Call, August 2014) 23

PIB, dated 21.5.2014

-11-

Annexure-I

Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Road Accidents in India, 2013, p. 56

-12-

Annexure-II

Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Road Accidents in India, 2013, p. 57

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Annexure-III

Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Road Accidents in India, 2013, p. 58

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Annexure-IV

Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Road Accidents in India, 2013, p. 65

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Annexure-V

Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Road Accidents in India, 2013, p. 59