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INDIA HAS STILL TO GET A GOOD GRIP ON ROAD SAFETY
What the article is about?
- Talks about the need to improve road safety standards.
Syllabus: GS-II Government Policies and initiatives; GS-III Infrastructure
Road Safety:
- Statistics published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways show that the number of deaths in road accidents increased from 1,42,485 in 2011 to 1,51,113 in 2019.
- Fatality (that is the number of deaths per 100 accidents) which was 26.9 in 2001, continued to rise from 28.63 in 2011 to 37.54 in 2020.
- The target is to reduce 50% of road accidents by 2025 and to achieve zero deaths due to road accidents by 2030.
Concerns:
- The expected impact of the deterrent provisions of the amended law could not be realised on the ground.
- The enforcement manpower that is available is insufficient to deal with the steadily increasing volume of traffic.
- The automation of processes is still in its infancy and limited to large cities.
- There are inadequate funds for the rectification of black spots and the undertaking of traffic calming measures.
- More than 60% of road accidents reportedly take place because of over-speeding, ‘speed limit’ signboards are rarely seen or found even on State highways and major roads.
- Most drivers, conductors, and other staff in transport companies (except for government corporations) do not get the benefits from the organised sector.
- They draw a meagre salary, usually do not have a weekly off and are most often forced to work overtime.
- Perhaps the most challenging task — is to improve the driving skills of drivers and change the casual attitude of other road users towards road safety
Way Ahead:
- Improving infrastructure:
- The number of ‘hit and run’ cases may decrease if the ‘Intelligent Traffic Management System’ is implemented on highways and other major roads.
- Better targeted implementation:
- The Emergency Response Support System (ERSS), with its pan-India emergency response number, 112, has proved very useful in saving the lives of accident victims in the golden hour
- Better collection mechanisms:
- Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) of the police and iRAD (Integrated Road Accident Database) Project, an initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, funded by the World Bank; the integration of these projects will bring some synergy and make the data collection procedure more user-friendly.
