CONFERENCE

INTRODUCTION

roadsafety India has one of the highest accident rates in the world. The statistics indicate that about 1.4 million serious road accidents/ collisions occurring annually in India. 138,258 people died of road accidents in India in 2012. Around 1, 37,579 people died last year as per provisional figures supplied by states. Though fatalities came down for the second consecutive year, there seems to be little commitment from policy makers and law enforcing agencies to make roads safe. Parliament is yet to pass the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill, which focuses on higher penalty for traffic violators.

Out of the estimated number only 0.4 million are recorded. Further, only a minimal percentage of these collisions are scientifically investigated, in the absence of which, the real causes and consequences are never known. Therefore remedial measures as well as punishment for the violators are also arbitrary.

Studies show that there are elementary reasons of these mishaps like negligence to Safety Norms, Driver’s Fatigue, Drunken driving, infrastructure loops, vehicle designing etc. Moreover, Highways lack some sort of preliminary road safety measures including first aid emergency services; immediate hospitalisation etc. that has increased the number of deaths every year.
Of lately, the new government’s focus has shifted to Road Safety issues after sad demise of the Union Minister Late Shree Gopinath Munde in a car crash due to traffic rule violation. However, there is still a lot to be done in order to reduce the fatalities.