That same month, a young woman was killed in Delhi after her scooter was hit by a car and was dragged by the vehicle in the early hours, resulting in the loss of the young and ambitious woman’s life—reported to be the breadwinner of her family.
It is worthwhile to recall that as per the ‘Road Accidents in India 2021’ report, there were 4,12,432 incidents of road accidents during 2021, which claimed 1,53,972 lives and caused injuries to 3,84,448 persons.
Gadkari was speaking as part of a telethon and outreach campaign titled ‘Sadak Suraksha Abhiyan’ during the national Road Safety Week (RSW), organised by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), which is committed to reduction in road fatalities and injuries and has undertaken multiple initiatives across all 4Es of road safety i.e. Engineering, Enforcement, Education and Emergency Care.
Observed from January 11 to 17, 2023, under ‘Swachhata Pakhwada,’ the Road Safety Week was aimed at driving road safety awareness for all. Speaking at the event, the Minister said the Centre will soon bring a new law in the country to regulate the working hours of truck drivers.
Indeed, road safety is one of the biggest public health burdens worldwide. Intrinsically linked with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), road safety is critical for the country’s growth and prosperity given that road accident-related injuries are one of the leading causes of deaths, disabilities and hospitalisations with severe socio-economic costs for a developing nation like India.
With rising motorisation and expanding road networks, travel risks and traffic exposure grow at a much faster rate as the growth of registered vehicles always outnumbers population growth and new roads constructed, informs the ‘Road Accidents in India 2021’ report. Hence, with rapid urbanisation and motorisation, developing measures committed to bring in safety for all types of road users—pedestrians, motorcyclists, motorists etc., as well as unauthorised roadside vendors and other encroachers—remain imperative.
Need for road safety awareness
Right to life and safety is a fundamental right of any citizen of India. Indeed, road accidents leading to death, disabilities and injuries requiring medical interventions, is a humanitarian crisis demanding renewed social impetus and a robust safety mechanism from multiple stakeholders owing to the socioeconomic costs that vehicular crashes pose for India.
To put things into perspective, in the last decade, India lost 1.5 million people to preventable road crashes and another 5.3 million have been left disabled for life. India has the highest number of road crash fatalities, with a crash occurring every minute and one death every three minutes. As per the WHO Global Report on Road Safety 2018, India accounts for almost 11% of the accident related deaths in the World.
Diving into this imperativeness earlier this year was Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd., in collaboration with Times CSR, completed a successful Road Safety – Awareness Drive in Delhi NCR, urging road users to follow all safety protocols. Targeted at disseminating information and creating awareness, Suzuki Motorcycle went through the data of fatal road accidents collated from various authentic sources and introduced Suzuki 2.0. The campaign was done in Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Agra, Chennai, Lucknow, Kanpur and Patna, nine cities most affected by road accidents across the country. And is now Suzuki 3.0 campaign on Road Safety is being done in eight cities of Haryana during Feb and March 2023.
As per the ‘Let’s be at the helm of road safety with helmets’ paper, published in End Poverty in South Asia, while two-wheeler crashes account for the highest death rate around the world, the situation is particularly alarming in South Asia, where motorised two-wheelers account for up to 70% of total vehicles.
Indeed, wearing helmets is one of the mandatory safety guidelines for pillion riders, however, the reality on roads is far from desirable due to a lack of awareness, pop-cultural macho-hero image, as well as faulty and inferior-quality helmets.
For instance, a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University, the US, and Central Road Research Institute in collaboration with the Delhi government’s transport department, highlights how out of every three two-wheeler riders, half of them do not wear a helmet correctly. And although almost 74% of Delhiites use the car seat belts, only 1% use the rear-seat belts.
However, given how precious lives can be saved by choosing to wear the protective gear, it is, in fact, the coolest statement to choose pragmatism, safety and sanity over any misguided notion about heroism. 36-year-old Raghvendra Singh, better known as the Helmet Man of India, who has given out over 56,000 helmets across the nation and has saved the lives of 30 individuals in just over 10 years would surely agree.
Keyword: Driving road safety awareness as India reaffirms commitment to reduction in road fatalities and injuries