Road safety is an issue of national concern, considering its magnitude and gravity and the consequent negative impacts on the economy, public health and the general welfare of the people. Today, Road Traffic Injuries are one of the leading causes of deaths, disabilities and hospitalizations, with severe socioeconomic costs, across the world. World health Statistics 2008 cited in Global Survey Report on Road Safety that RTIs in 2004 were the 9th leading cause of death and at current rates by 2030 are expected to be the 5th leading cause of death, overtaking diabetes and HIV/AIDS.
India loses $20 billion due to road accidents annually, which the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates is enough to feed 50% of the nation’s malnourished children. Officially, at least 1.34 lakh people died on Indian roads in 2010, while experts claim the figure could be about 1.5 lakh considering the under reporting of such cases.
There is a dire need to save the vulnerable road users to reduce the huge annual financial loss. strategies have to be devised to save lives, particularly pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheeler riders, besides putting curbs on drunk driving and stricter enforcement of wearing helmets and seat belts. While 2,000 people dying annually in terrorist acts becomes a national issue, 1.34 lakh road fatalities have never been highlighted.
The high use of cellphones while driving, is increasing the chance of accidents globally. The chances of accidents increases four-fold in such cases.
To reduce the accidents and fatalities on Indian roads, there is a need to have proper probe to unearth the cause of accidents. The government data claims that only 1% of the deaths are caused due to faulty roads, which is unacceptable. When you have wrong data, how can you prepare an action plan to fix the problems? How many engineers have been jailed for any accident? We need to see how we build our roads, investigate properly how accidents occur and police probe these cases. There should be one group or body that should bring all sectors together, and it should announce a plan to reduce fatalities. The investigators looking into accident cases have little training to probe them. The usual course of investigation is on predictable lines: bigger vehicle is the culprit, dead is the victim and alive is the accused. We need to find the reasons behind such accidents, as it is done in other countries.