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Making Roads Safer

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April 14, 2018

What is the issue? 

  • There was a series of road accidents in different parts of the country in recent days.
  • It calls for fixing road design and enforcing safety protocols in India.

What are the concerns?

  • Accidents - Nationally around 1,50,000 are dying and several hundred thousand are injured annually.
  • The data on Indians killed or injured in road accidents put out annually by the Centre do not reflect the picture.
  • It obscures the human impact of the loss on national and State highways, as well as urban and rural roads.
  • Investigative mechanism - There is lack of expert help to conduct a technical investigation into an accident.
  • The executive agencies such as the Police and Public Works Departments thus fall short in this regard.
  • The present investigative machinery does not have the capability to determine faults.
  • Thus the officials responsible for bad road design and construction and lax traffic managers often escape liability.
  • Victims - For accident victims, there is the heavy burden of out-of-pocket expenditure on medical treatment.
  • The government had promised to address this issue through a cashless facility.
  • But it has not been able to do so.
  • As, the requisite amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act have not yet been passed.

How is the response?

  • Supreme Court - SC has been trying to shake governments out of their apathy.
  • It constituted the Committee on Road Safety in 2014 at this end.
  • It has also made several specific and time-bound directions.
  • However, the response of the Centre and the States has been far from responsible.
  • Black spots - Safety black spots on roads were identified on the basis of fatal accidents between 2011 and 2014.
  • But only around 190 out of the around 790 such spots had been rectified.
  • Funds had been sanctioned for another 256.
  • The rest are either under State jurisdiction or awaiting sanction.
  • Mere incremental approaches such as these result in worrying national record on road fatalities.

What should be done?

  • Investigation - The accidents should be probed by qualified transport safety experts.
  • This is crucial to determine the systemic shortfalls.
  • Only a scientific investigation system can stop the routine criminalising of all accidents.
  • There needs to be a report on the mishaps, to identify lapses, if any.
  • And the remedial road engineering measures should be taken up accordingly.
  • District Committees - The SC has directed that the performance of district committees should be reviewed periodically.
  • This should ideally follow mandatory public hearings every month.
  • This is for the citizens to record road risk complaints.
  • Mechanism - The much-delayed National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board should be formed.
  • The provision for State governments to participate in this has to be materialised.
  • Ultimately, road safety depends on enforcement of rules with zero tolerance to violations.
  • More importantly, officials should be made accountable for safety.

 

Source: The Hindu

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