India No. 1 in road accidents, says WHO

With 130,000 deaths annually, India has overtaken China and now has the worst road traffic accident rate worldwide. This has been revealed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its first ever Global Status Report on Road Safety. With the increase in traffic on road nowadays, the safety of travelers on the road has become a big issue. The reason for this increase in traffic is that a large numbers of drivers in India today are able to walk away with licenses without getting a proper training. As a result these untrained drivers, drive their vehicles carelessly beyond the speed limit resulting in accidents. Truck and school bus drivers holding bogus licenses also cause menace and accidents involving children occur when they are playing or travelling by school bus. Road accidents not only cause grief to the families affected but also hamper our national economy.

With road accidents becoming almost an everyday phenomenon, there is a need for this system to be monitored. Road safety measures need to be undertaken so as to reduce the casualties and prevent loss of economy. Bus and trucks drivers specially need to be trained for defensive driving skills. As a result, there is a need of an emphatic training in essentials of Road Safety and Defensive Driving Skills. Institute for Excellence in Services Planning (IESP) is an institute that has taken a first of its kind initiative in India for the improvement of road safety and safe driving skills. IESP follows a Defensive Driving Course (DDC) Training module in accordance with the National Safety Council, USA, and trains drivers in the mechanics of road safety and also teaches them proper driving skills and techniques.