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What's the article about?
- It talks about India's road safety crisis, a silent pandemic.
Relevance:
- GS1: Issues with urbanisation
Context:
- India's roads are a paradox, representing an enormous opportunity for transportation and travel, but also a source of a silent but deadly pandemic.
- According to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 300,000 people are killed on Indian roads each year, equivalent to more than 34 people every hour of every day.
- This is a conservative estimate, and the number of people suffering life-altering injuries in road crashes is even higher. Road crashes are estimated to cost between 5% and 7% of national GDP in India.
Analysis:
- World Day of Remembrance:
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- The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on November 19 provided a platform for road traffic victims and their families to remember, support, and act.
- The alarming statistics should serve as a wake-up call to all of us. Immediate, coordinated, and evidence-based interventions are needed to boost road safety and drastically reduce the daily human tragedies behind the alarming statistics.
- Focus Areas for Better Safety:
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- Priority areas must include enforcing the use of seatbelts not just for drivers but also for their passengers. Similarly, helmet use must be enforced among motorcyclists as well as their pillion passengers.
- Vulnerable road users, who include pedestrians, cyclists, and the riders of two-wheelers, account for almost three-quarters of road deaths in India.
- Speeding must be reduced, and there can be no tolerance for drink-driving. Road infrastructure should be enhanced, and large-scale public awareness campaigns must be undertaken to secure behavioral changes.
- Steps in the Right Direction:
- Steps in the right direction in India include the national government's implementation of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, and enhanced data collection from road crashes.
- Police in major cities are adopting modern technologies such as intelligent traffic management systems to effectively regulate traffic flows and minimize the potential for collision. Private sector companies are also searching for solutions.
Way Forward:
- Road safety is a complex and multi-dimensional challenge, but the benefits that come with addressing it can be equally profound. A comprehensive safe-system approach is needed, as envisaged in the UN's Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, and full implementation of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019. Ending the silent pandemic of road injuries will not only save lives but also strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for everyone.
