India accounts for just 1% of the world’s motor vehicles. But 11% of the world’s road traffic deaths.
The government has set up a target to reduce these road accidents & resulting deaths to half by 2024.
Here’re the programs & policies the Government have implemented so far:
- ₹25,000 Cr allocated to remove black spots on highways.
- Bharat NCAP to accord automobiles Star ratings based on crash tests’ performance.
- Motor Vehicles Act 2019 for cashless treatment of victims during the golden hour.
- Observance of National Road Safety Week every year to spread awareness of road safety.
- Partnerships with tech giants like Intel to bring tech measures into road safety.
With the help of the World Economic Forum, World
Bank & ADB, Government is also working on other solutions.
The funds will be allocated to State Governments
to ensure an efficient & effective black spot rectification.
But merely the allocation of funds may only be
sufficient if proper utilisation is ensured and the latest technologies are not
used to mass scaling & quick proliferation to citizens, the real road
safety will remain an illusion.
The traditional approach to road safety is not yielding the desired
results, which is evident from the fact that despite some exciting & promising
efforts like developing Zero fatality corridors, identifying & fixing
blackspots, installing cameras for enforcement etc., the highest number of road
fatalities, took place in 2021.
Mere copying western road safety solutions will
not work on Indian roads, where the problem is multi-layered.
Unlike in western countries, the heterogeneous
traffic on Indian roads constitutes pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles, cars,
buses, commercial vehicles, trucks, tractors and even animals.
Road Safety
is the topmost priority of all of us, including the Government. And needs
innovative technology-driven solutions to step closer to its vision of a safe
driving experience. Thoughts?
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