Report: Road Safety in India - Scope and Challenges

Road accidents in India have claimed 12 lac lives in the last decade, which is way higher than other countries like China, South Africa and Brazil that have shown a notable fall in road fatalities despite steep growth in vehicle sales. Whereas in India, the rate of fatalities has increased around 50 per cent in the last decade. The reason is quite clear, when it comes to the road safety, we Indians seem to be the least bothered about it, resulting in high road fatality rate. India is filled with untrained drivers, inadequate law enforcement, badly maintained highways and cars with minimum safety equipment, making Indian roads one of the most dangerous roads in the world.

The recently conducted NCAP test on Maruti Swift and Datsun GO has sparked a discussion about road safety. One thing is quite clear; Indian Govt. has to enforce regulations to make Indian roads safer. A draft on National Road Safety Policy has already been submitted and is currently under serious consideration. In fact, today government announced that all the new cars have to pass mandatory frontal road crash test at a speed of 56kmph by October, 2015. Government is also looking to set up a new facility called Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Programme, which will provide NCAP like testing facility and provide safety ratings to the Indian cars. So, the administration is looking serious to make cars safer, but it will take time and will only be effective on the new cars. So, we also need to look into it that how we can make Indian roads safer.

Awareness about Road Safety:

Emerging countries like India, which is undergoing rapid motorization is facing higher road fatality because of the increased number of new and untrained drivers. Lack of road safety awareness is also one of the prime reasons. So, it is necessary that one should be informed about traffic rules and should not drive without a valid license and proficiency.

Safer Vehicles:

As most of the car-buyers don’t even know about the safety features in a car and the consequences of not having these, manufacturers are also not in a hurry to introduce these safety features, as it will hike the prices for something we don’t care at all. So, till the time the new policies will get into effect, about 2 million vehicles will be sold and among these most will be sold with minimal safety features. So, if you are going to buy a vehicle, it is advisable to go for variants that are coming with Airbags and ABS.

Safer Roads:

Bad roads claim a lot of lives in India and this should be fixed. Also, road infrastructure has a strong influence on the perception of drivers, as depending on its design, a road may encourage people to drive too fast or cause him to drive slowly. In India, most of the  roads don’t have proper markings and traffic signage. So, it is important for the Govt. that they don’t compromise on the safety of road infrastructure for the sake of quantity.

Enforcement of Traffic Rules:

We have seen a rise in fines and penalties for those who break the traffic rules, but these are still not at a par with other countries. Like in USA, drivers caught for speeding or drink and drive will face a fine of $800 - 10 times of the average monthly salary and imprisonment. However, the government is proposing a drastic increase in fines and prison sentences for dangerous driving.

The enforcement of traffic legislation is also important as it controls the traffic rule violators and potential violators and raises the level of compliance among all drivers and road users. However, in recent years the amount of traffic has increased substantially but the number of traffic police and regional transport officers has not increased proportionately.  Also, the corruption and multiple responsibilities assigned to traffic police has created problems. All these factors has raised several questions.

Conclusion

Over 1.2 million deaths and 5.5 million seriously injured in the last decade and we are still far away from safer roads. To change this scenario, we have to work together; the Govt. has started doing the damage control by setting up Nation Road Safety Policy and new independent regulatory body for the same. The new safety norms will also ensure revised minimum safety features in a car, which is going to save 2 lakh lives in next five years. We can further enhance the safety of our roads by getting aware about traffic rules and maintaining our vehicles accordingly. So, DRIVE SAFE and make INDIAN ROADS SAFER!!!