Even after all the technological advancements that have been made in mobility and commuting, an unreal number of people die or get injured in road accidents. The statistics pertaining to fatalities are both alarming and a wakeup call for action. Progress cannot be made with a select few abiding by rules and regulations. Everyone is individually and collectively responsible for keeping the roads safe.
The length and quality of highways has improved year after year since the start of the new millennium. Successive governments have made roads a priority. The compounding effect of better roads can be seen in the economy. People and products are reaching their destination faster and more comfortably. With higher speeds the degree of risk increases exponentially.
The central and state governments are playing an active role in spreading awareness around the menacing reality of road accidents. Time and again traffic police personnel have resorted to stick and carrot approach.
Monetary fines have helped in taming repeat offenders, but given the size of the population in India, there is always someone breaking the law. We have overcome many shortcomings in our country when the issue became a people’s movement and it is now time to put the brakes on traffic mortalities.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India (GoI), launched the National Road Safety Month on 18th January 2021. Previously, this was a week-long exercise, but given the importance of road safety, the GoI, launched the month-long initiative at the 40th meeting of Transport Development Council.
There is a human and economic cost for carelessness on the road. The deceased or injured leave behind grief-stricken family and friends, while their participation in workforce gets curtailed. Insurance payments help the dependents / nominees in the near term, but rising disbursements increase the overall cost of motor vehicle and life insurance. In a developing economy, both the human and financial capital should be judiciously employed, as any deviation from the primary cause is an opportunity lost.
As per World Health Organization, accident related deaths are known to be the eighth leading cause of death and the largest cause of death among children aged 5-14 and adults in the age of 15-29. India accounts for almost 11% of the accident related deaths in the World.
As per a study conducted by IIT Delhi, the total socio-economic cost of road accidents reported by India in 2018 was ₹1,47,117 crores, which was equivalent to 0.77% of the nation’s GDP.
Havoc on Highways
National Highways which comprised for just 2.03% of the total road network, accounted for 30.6% of total road accidents and 35.7% of deaths in 2019. National and State Highways accounted for about 5% of total road network witnessed a disproportionately large share of accidents and deaths of 55% and 61%, respectively.
GoI’s Emphasis on 4 E’s
National Road Safety Month, which will conclude on 17th February, has four essential pillars, namely, engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency care services. These topics will be pondered upon by enforcement agencies and citizen forums.
Engineering is the foundation of road safety. Designing safer roads has been the endeavour of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The engineering part does not end with design, but it involves construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. A common citizen can only hope for the institutions engaged in highway construction and maintenance to do their job diligently.
Education about road safety is a wide-ranging topic, but it mostly involves spreading appropriate awareness among the users of roads. Whether it is personal commute or transport of goods, there are few basic guidelines that make the roads safer for everyone. Alertness with respect to common traffic signboards, adherence to traffic signals and wearing the seatbelt and helmet have the potential to lessen road accidents. Following the above basic rules has shown commendable results in reducing the severity of accidents.
Enforcement of traffic rules should not be episodic. Enforcement agencies conduct surprise checks at important intersections both within the city and on the highway. They fine the offenders and after a fortnight things go back to normal. It seems like after meeting a certain monetary target, traffic personnel feel content with their work and lower the guard. A lot has been accomplished with these enforcement drives, as more and more people have formed habits to wear seat belt and helmet. The fear of fine is serving the intended purpose. Nowadays, people get an e-challan (intimation / receipt for payment of fine) for violating speed limits and crossing the stop line at a traffic signal. Artificial Intelligence and GPS-enabled technologies are being employed in urban locales to identify and prosecute traffic rule offenders.
Emergency care services have not kept pace with the times. In the last ten years, road crashes have killed over 13 lakh people in India. According to the Law Commission of India, 50% of these victims died of preventable injuries and could have been saved if they had received care on time. The role of the bystander is critical in providing emergency care to the victim. Yet, in India, bystanders have been hesitant to help the injured for fear of legal repercussions and procedural hassles.
In 2012, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court of India, requesting the Hon’ble court to safeguard Good Samaritans who come forward to help the injured.
A Good Samaritan is a person who, in good faith, without expectation of payment or reward and without any duty of care or special relationship, voluntarily comes forward to administer immediate assistance or emergency care to a person injured in an accident, or crash, or emergency medical condition, or emergency situation. GoI issued a notification on 21st January 2016 with regard to protection of Good Samaritans. Major national highways have ambulances and other necessary emergency services apparatus at designated places.