Editorial Simplified: Deadly Roads | GS – III

Relevance: GS Paper III (Internal Security)


Why has this issue cropped up?

The Road Accidents in India report of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for 2017 comes as a disappointment.


Issues with the report

  • By reiterating poorly performing policies and programmes, it has failed to signal the quantum shift necessary to reduce death and disability on the roads.
  • It expresses concern at the large number of people who die every year and the thousands who are crippled in accidents, but the remedies it highlights are weak, incremental and unlikely to bring about a transformation.
  • The lack of progress in reducing traffic injuries is glaring, given that the Supreme Court is seized of the issue and has been issuing periodic directions in a public interest petition with the assistance of the Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan Committee constituted by the Centre.
  • Little has been done to fulfil what the Road Transport Ministry promises: that the Centre and the States will work to improve safety as a joint responsibility, although enforcement of rules is a State issue.
  • That nothing much has changed is reflected by the death of 1,47,913 people in accidents in 2017. To claim a 1.9% reduction over the previous year is statistically insignificant, more so when the data on the rate of people who die per 100 accidents show no decline.
  • Even more shocking is the finding that green commuters — cyclists/pedestrians — now face greater danger on India’s roads, with a rise in fatalities for these categories of users of 37% and 29% over 2016, respectively.

The hurdles in the way of road safety

  • It is welcome that greater attention is being paid to the design and safety standards of vehicles, but such professionalism should extend to public infrastructure: the design of roads, their quality and maintenance, and the safety of public transport, among others.
  • The Centre has watered down the national bus body standards code in spite of a commitment given to the Supreme Court, by requiring only self-certification by the builders.
  • Valuable time has been lost in creating institutions for road safety with a legal mandate, starting with an effective national agency.
  • The Road Safety Councils at the all-India and State levels have simply not been able to change the dismal record.
  • The police forces lack the training and motivation for professional enforcement.

Conclusion

Data on fatalities and injuries due to road accidents must jolt the government into action. The urgent need is to fix accountability in government.


Reference:

Deadly roads in India (The Hindu)


 

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