A sense of urgency on road safety is still to pervade the collective consciousness.
What is the present status?
India signed the 2015 Brasilia Declaration committing to halve the number of deaths in road accidents by 2020.
“Road Accidents in India - 2015”, released last year by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways shows that this will be a challenge.
The total number of road accidents increased by 2.5% from 2014 to 2015.
Number of people killed in such mishaps during the same period increased even more by 4.6%.
There were approximately 1.5 lakh road related deaths in 2015 alone.
What measures could meet the objectives of Brasilia Declaration?
Road safety agency - Presently, safety certification is done in-house by implementing agencies like NHAI.
It gives rise to conflict of interests.
So there is a need for a separate independent body in order to certify whether a new/upgraded highway meets all safety requirements.
Drafting a Mission - A clear mission draft for road safety is required on the lines of the one prepared by the Kakodkar committee on Railways.
Safe Drivers - There is no mandatory safety training before appearing for a driving test.
Also, a substantial number of bogus licences exist.
A foolproof mechanism to issue and renew “genuine” licences by the many driving schools in India needs to be devised.
Newer Technology - The NHAI incorporated Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) on December 2012.
Whilst electronic toll collection (ETC) is its major objective, the IHMCL can well be re-energised in its “ancillary projects” charter to focus on safety delivery through technology.
Beginnings could be made with regional control centres, emergency call boxes, variable message signage and integration of FastTag, mobile messages and in-cab radio broadcasts.
Raising Resources – While the government has announced a Rs 1-lakh crore “Rail safety fund”, road safety too needs such magnitude of resources.
To meet this, a 25 paise out of the Rs.2 cess on every litre of petrol and diesel can be earmarked for a road safety fund.
Updating codes - Safety related provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, the Indian Roads Congress manual for highway design, and the Road Safety Manual should all be refreshed and aligned.
New legislations – Bills relating to vehicle safety and testing, registration, insurance, a Good Samaritan law are already under consideration.
A Motor Vehicle Accident Fund for cashless compensation for treatment during the Golden Hour is also on the cards.
The government should prioritise these and oversee their passing.
