SC panel to monitor MV laws, road safety designs
Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday set up a committee headed by an apex court judge to monitor implementation of motor vehicle laws and road safety designs after it found Indian roads were “giant killers”, with accidents increasing from 92,618 in 2004 to over 1.25 lakh in 2009.
In comparison, the number of road accident deaths in China reduced from 1.07 lakh to 67,759 in the five-year period.
A bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and N V Ramana said, “The facts mentioned above leave no room for doubt that Indian roads have proved to be giant killers and thus demanding immediate attention and remedial action.”
The bench also added, “It appears to us that the four-dimensional approach that the government had earlier attempted by setting up four different working groups to go into the issues of road safety – enforcement, engineering, education and emergency care – would be the best manner to approach the issues arising.”
While saying that bringing discipline to Indian roads was an arduous task, the court set up three-member committee comprising Justice S Radhakrishnan, former transport secretary S Sundar and Dr Nishi Mittal, chief scientist in Central Road Research Institute.
Justice Radhakrishnan will take up the new assignment from May 15 after his retirement.
SC charts course for safe roads
Indian roads have proved to be giant killers. Demanding immediate attention and remedial action, the Supreme Court on Tuesday appointed a three-member panel to suggest measures to prevent road accidents and ensure accountability.
Acting on a public interest litigation plea filed by orthopaedic surgeon S. Rajasekaran, a Bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and N.V. Ramana appointed the panel comprising Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan; the former Transport Secretary, S. Sundar; and the former Head of the Department, Traffic Engineering and Safety, Dr. Nishi Mittal. Justice Radhakrishnan, who retires as judge on May 14, will join the panel the next day.
The Bench said: “We intend to monitor implementation and to make the States accountable for any inaction or lapse.”
Quoting figures furnished by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the volume, ‘Road Accidents in India 2010’, the Bench highlighted the increase in accidents and fatal cases between 1970 and 2010.
An accident per minute
The report has revealed that one accident takes place in the country every minute and one person dies in an accident every four minutes. In 2010 alone 1,26,896 people lost their lives in road accidents. Of the 4,30,654 accidents that year, 4,66,600 were categorised as causing serious injuries, which included amputation.
Writing the judgment, Justice Gogoi said: “Road traffic accidents have the potential of being one of the largest challenges to orderly human existence necessitating immediate and urgent intervention. Regular maintenance of all highways and roads by both the Central and State governments, in order to make the same traffic worthy, is the minimum that the citizens can expect and are entitled to. We hardly need to emphasise that it is the duty of the Central and State governments to ensure the availability of safe roads worthy of traffic.”
The Bench asked the panel to submit its report to the court after receipt of reports from the Centre and States on the status of enforcement of road safety laws.
The road to safety
India’s roads have acquired a reputation, quite deservedly, of being the most dangerous in the world. Rapid motorisation and fast-paced economic activity over several years have been accompanied by an annual toll of nearly 140,000 accident fatalities; injuries are estimated to be 15 to 20 times the number of deaths. In absolute numbers, more people die in road accidents in India than in any other country. Apart from the human dimension of the tragedy, avoidable death and disability seriously affect economic progress — by some estimates, 3 per cent of GDP is lost in a year due to the carnage. The recent decision of the Supreme Court to appoint a three-member committee to suggest ways to prevent road accidents and ensure accountability offers some hope that a new government at the Centre will be compelled to address the issue as an emergency. It is not as if suggestions for improvements for enhanced safety have not been proposed earlier. The Sundar Committee constituted by the Centre called for an apex agency to be created to assess all aspects of road safety, and to address the lacuna in scientific accident investigation. Although the recommendation was made seven years ago, it has failed to take off. Indians are travelling more miles per capita today, and are at high risk for injury or worse.
Unsafe transport, including services operated by government agencies, are a major part of the problem. Several ghastly accidents involving public transport vehicles have been reported, but the State governments involved have shown little sense of accountability. They routinely challenge even claims for compensation. Their response to the need for improved infrastructure has been woefully weak. In its recent report, the National Transport Development Policy Committee headed by Rakesh Mohan suggested that national, State and local-level institutions be set up, with responsibility to address the issue of safety. There is an urgent need to form these committees, and appoint professionals to them. They must be empowered to upgrade driver-licensing practices, road systems, public lighting and signage. Accident investigation, which remains a neglected area, requires a thorough overhaul, and CCTVs can help determine the cause of mishaps. Also, the neglect of the public district hospital network in most States, and the high cost of treatment at private hospitals affect access to good trauma care for accident victims. The right to life demands that the Central and State governments provide medical facilities at a proximate institution free of cost to all. The Supreme Court panel must give road accidents the status of a public health issue that has acquired alarming proportions. Reform to improve road safety cannot be delayed any longer.
BUCKLE UP ON REAR SEAT `EU-like law must to enforce seat belt use'
Gopinath Munde’s death has had a positive fallout — it has created concern over the lack of basic safety while driving and drawn attention to the need to wear back-seat safety belts, which is neither legally mandatory nor advocated through any awareness programme. Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Wednesday , “I lost my friend to a misconception. Most people think back-seat belts serve on ly a decorative purpose. But wearing them is as essential as wearing front-seat belts.Munde might have been alive had he been wearing one.”
and helmets for women mandatory and non-compliance punishable. However, the law would have to be enforced by the state governments.“Let us regard the Gopinath Munde tragedy as the turning point. It should be a wake-up call to all vehicle owners,” Vardhan said.
Munde’s death has jolted Vardhan to take up road safety as a cause. He announced a “major multimedia awareness campaign” for which he wishes to rope in NGOs.The health ministry will soon take the initiative to educate people about safety protocols while driving. Vardhan is pitching for a central law to make wearing rear-seat belts
Vardhan said: “I now realize the trauma of countless others whose near ones died in car crashes only because they had overlooked the importance of the seat belt.“The proposed multimedia awareness campaign would focus on “the child victims of accidents, whether direct or as those left behind by their parents“, the minister said. He said children often tend to worship the wrong role models. Instead of deifying those who drive or ride rashly , they should be exposed to the right way. Vardhan said he would “seek the cooperation of the association of petroleum dealers to utilize the pumps as points of interface with car and bike users.“ He said a new law was necessary , along the lines of EU countries, to punish those who don't wear seat belt or helmet.
Indian roads are arguably the most indisciplined in the world. The will to impose discipline is also feeble. Apart from not legally enforcing wearing rear-seat belts, the government doesn't enforce helmets for women despiteas Vardhan saidthe number of female deaths in urban traffic rising. The minister also spoke of the growing habit of talking on the mobile phone or even texting while driving. “This is so rampant that anybody would think that the (Indian) population lacks basic education on safety,“ he said. Drinking and driving is another menace that attracts stiff penalties in the West. Here, drives against it proceed in fits and starts.
In 1997, Princess Diana died in a car crash inside a Paris tunnel. The Mercedes S-280 she was travelling in plowed into a concrete pillar at 104kmph. Yet, one of its four occupants--her bodyguard Trevor Rees Jones-survived. He was the only one wearing a seat belt. Closer home, in 2007, former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma died in a road accident after a collision with a truck. Vardhan said he too could have been saved had he been wearing a seat belt.
Research in the UK has shown wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers by 45%, and risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50%. For those riding in the rear of vans and SUVs, rear seat belts are 73% better at preventing fatalities. Also, children are likely to be safer 92% when adults use seat belts.
According to a WHO report, India has the highest number of road deaths in the world 105,725 in 400,000 accidents, followed by China (96,611), US (42,642) and Russia (35,972).
Of these deaths, 25% can be avoided by wearing seat belts.
Rohit Baluja, president of Institute of Road Traffic Education, said, “Wearing a seat belt stops your body from being thrown around inside or outside the car in case of a crash.“
and helmets for women mandatory and non-compliance punishable. However, the law would have to be enforced by the state governments.“Let us regard the Gopinath Munde tragedy as the turning point. It should be a wake-up call to all vehicle owners,” Vardhan said.
Munde’s death has jolted Vardhan to take up road safety as a cause. He announced a “major multimedia awareness campaign” for which he wishes to rope in NGOs.The health ministry will soon take the initiative to educate people about safety protocols while driving. Vardhan is pitching for a central law to make wearing rear-seat belts
Vardhan said: “I now realize the trauma of countless others whose near ones died in car crashes only because they had overlooked the importance of the seat belt.“The proposed multimedia awareness campaign would focus on “the child victims of accidents, whether direct or as those left behind by their parents“, the minister said. He said children often tend to worship the wrong role models. Instead of deifying those who drive or ride rashly , they should be exposed to the right way. Vardhan said he would “seek the cooperation of the association of petroleum dealers to utilize the pumps as points of interface with car and bike users.“ He said a new law was necessary , along the lines of EU countries, to punish those who don't wear seat belt or helmet.
Indian roads are arguably the most indisciplined in the world. The will to impose discipline is also feeble. Apart from not legally enforcing wearing rear-seat belts, the government doesn't enforce helmets for women despiteas Vardhan saidthe number of female deaths in urban traffic rising. The minister also spoke of the growing habit of talking on the mobile phone or even texting while driving. “This is so rampant that anybody would think that the (Indian) population lacks basic education on safety,“ he said. Drinking and driving is another menace that attracts stiff penalties in the West. Here, drives against it proceed in fits and starts.
In 1997, Princess Diana died in a car crash inside a Paris tunnel. The Mercedes S-280 she was travelling in plowed into a concrete pillar at 104kmph. Yet, one of its four occupants--her bodyguard Trevor Rees Jones-survived. He was the only one wearing a seat belt. Closer home, in 2007, former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma died in a road accident after a collision with a truck. Vardhan said he too could have been saved had he been wearing a seat belt.
Research in the UK has shown wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers by 45%, and risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50%. For those riding in the rear of vans and SUVs, rear seat belts are 73% better at preventing fatalities. Also, children are likely to be safer 92% when adults use seat belts.
According to a WHO report, India has the highest number of road deaths in the world 105,725 in 400,000 accidents, followed by China (96,611), US (42,642) and Russia (35,972).
Of these deaths, 25% can be avoided by wearing seat belts.
Rohit Baluja, president of Institute of Road Traffic Education, said, “Wearing a seat belt stops your body from being thrown around inside or outside the car in case of a crash.“
Roads Of Ruin
India has appalling road safety but smart planning can correct highways from hell
The tragic loss of Union rural development minister Gopinath Munde in a car accident emphasises the abysmal state of road safety in India.
A World Health Organisation 2011 report found India topping a global A World Health Organisation 2011 report found India topping a global list of fatalities caused by road accidents. That situation has worsened with 1.4 million serious road accidents occurring in India annually, more than 300 people reportedly losing their lives daily in crashes. That means one person dies in a road accident every three minutes.Many of these losses are completely avoidable. The accident involving Munde was caused by bad road design, the minister's car hit at an intersection where a road connecting at a tangent obscures approaching vehicles from view. Within the capital itself, traffic experts have identified at least 10 such crossings where traffic density meets design flaw producing a toxic mix. This can be immediately corrected by placing warning signs and well-located reflector mirrors enabling holistic views. But Munde's accident emphasises how no authority has begun implementing road safety with the seriousness this needs.
This lack of concern is greatly worry ing for progress cannot be achieved with out proper planning. The newly-elected NDA government promised to spread 100 smart cities and new infrastructure across India. One could begin this process by designing smart roadways, inclusive of better traffic enforcement, in India's exist ing cities. That would cut down not only on the appalling human cost of road accidents but also the estimated 3% GDP loss stem ming from them. Intelligently planned roads that can absorb India's growing vehicular flows, well-placed pedestrian crossings and footbridges and modernised traffic monitoring accomplished by hiring enough traffic police and giving them speed cameras, breathalysers and comprehensive post-accident assistance systems can help India minimise losses caused by dangerous roads.
Alongside, there are vital steps citizens too must take. Traffic rules like wearing helmets and seat belts and not using phones during driving exist only to keep people safe. By flippantly rejecting these, citizens seriously harm themselves and others. A sense of entitlement pushes some to break regulations like red light stops. Undermining rules and thinking some are above these cause clearly avoidable road tragedies. Along with focussed government action and tough enforcement norms, thorough training programmes for road safety from school level up are urgently required. It's high time more intelligent moves by both government and citizens corrected India's hellish highways.
A World Health Organisation 2011 report found India topping a global A World Health Organisation 2011 report found India topping a global list of fatalities caused by road accidents. That situation has worsened with 1.4 million serious road accidents occurring in India annually, more than 300 people reportedly losing their lives daily in crashes. That means one person dies in a road accident every three minutes.Many of these losses are completely avoidable. The accident involving Munde was caused by bad road design, the minister's car hit at an intersection where a road connecting at a tangent obscures approaching vehicles from view. Within the capital itself, traffic experts have identified at least 10 such crossings where traffic density meets design flaw producing a toxic mix. This can be immediately corrected by placing warning signs and well-located reflector mirrors enabling holistic views. But Munde's accident emphasises how no authority has begun implementing road safety with the seriousness this needs.
This lack of concern is greatly worry ing for progress cannot be achieved with out proper planning. The newly-elected NDA government promised to spread 100 smart cities and new infrastructure across India. One could begin this process by designing smart roadways, inclusive of better traffic enforcement, in India's exist ing cities. That would cut down not only on the appalling human cost of road accidents but also the estimated 3% GDP loss stem ming from them. Intelligently planned roads that can absorb India's growing vehicular flows, well-placed pedestrian crossings and footbridges and modernised traffic monitoring accomplished by hiring enough traffic police and giving them speed cameras, breathalysers and comprehensive post-accident assistance systems can help India minimise losses caused by dangerous roads.
Alongside, there are vital steps citizens too must take. Traffic rules like wearing helmets and seat belts and not using phones during driving exist only to keep people safe. By flippantly rejecting these, citizens seriously harm themselves and others. A sense of entitlement pushes some to break regulations like red light stops. Undermining rules and thinking some are above these cause clearly avoidable road tragedies. Along with focussed government action and tough enforcement norms, thorough training programmes for road safety from school level up are urgently required. It's high time more intelligent moves by both government and citizens corrected India's hellish highways.
Roads Less Safe Than Bangladesh's
India must make its roads safe for citizens
The death of rural development minister Gopinath Munde in a road accident early on Tuesday brings attention back to road safety rules and the lack of implementation of these. With 1.25 billion people, India is a crowded country, and as the economy grows, the number of vehicles on the road is bound to increase. In 2012, nearly 1,40,000 people — more than the entire population of some small island nations — died in road accidents in India. On average, someone, somewhere in India dies in a road accident every three minutes. China has made its road transport systems safer and its accident rate has dropped. India needs to act fast to bring this totally avoidable source of mortality down.When politicians and ministers die, and many have perished on India’s roads, it makes headlines. But contrary to popular perception, the people most at risk are those at the lower end of the income scale: bicycle riders, pedestrians and those using public transport. Our cities should have cycling lanes and traffic lights for pedestrians. Delhi, perhaps India’s most developed city in terms of urban infrastructure, has attempted to do both — with variable success.
Some pedestrian lights work, most bicycle lanes have been hijacked and made doubly dangerous for cyclists, by motorcycles, scooters and even small cars that can squeeze into them in rush-hour traffic. Policing has to improve, and the job of cops should be to crack down on rash or drunken driving, not to harass rickshaw drivers for bribes.
The best way to assess road safety is to count the number of deaths for every 1,00,000 people. In 2010, India, with 18.9 deaths per 1,00,000, is close to the global average of 18.
Africa has the highest incidence, at 24; Europe, with a rate of 10.3, is the safest place to drive. India is considerably better off than Thailand (38), Venezuela (37) and Iran (34). But it is worth noting that each of our immediate neighbours has safer streets, with Bangladesh, with only 11.6 deaths per 1,00,000, being the best. Surely, it is not beyond India’s capability to do better.
Some pedestrian lights work, most bicycle lanes have been hijacked and made doubly dangerous for cyclists, by motorcycles, scooters and even small cars that can squeeze into them in rush-hour traffic. Policing has to improve, and the job of cops should be to crack down on rash or drunken driving, not to harass rickshaw drivers for bribes.
The best way to assess road safety is to count the number of deaths for every 1,00,000 people. In 2010, India, with 18.9 deaths per 1,00,000, is close to the global average of 18.
Africa has the highest incidence, at 24; Europe, with a rate of 10.3, is the safest place to drive. India is considerably better off than Thailand (38), Venezuela (37) and Iran (34). But it is worth noting that each of our immediate neighbours has safer streets, with Bangladesh, with only 11.6 deaths per 1,00,000, being the best. Surely, it is not beyond India’s capability to do better.
L-G approves formation of Delhi road safety committees
Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung on Monday approved the formation of district-level Road Safety Committees in Delhi.
Role:
-It will have the mandate to ensure a closer engagement of the local administration and the citizen with the issue of road safety,
- identifying the black spots on the city roads and
- suggest remedial measures.
-deployment of ambulances,
-development of trauma care and blood bank facility,
-enforcement of traffic regulation,
-creation of wayside amenities
-checking the functioning of the district transport offices,
Composition:
“Apart from the area District Magistrate and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, senior officers of other government agencies, including the civic bodies, have been made member of each committee.
The District Road Safety Committees will hold its meeting at least once in three months or as per requirement,
On the road to safety
-Road safety is not a standalone phenomenon. Roads are unsafe because of :
shortcomings in road and traffic engineering,
old and non-standard codes of traffic control devices,
poor driver training and assessment,
outdated legislations and
a poor enforcement system.
When accidents occur, the possibility of minor injuries translating to serious injuries and serious injuries graduating to fatalities depends on a vacuity in information systems, victim transportation and trauma care.
Though the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is the nodal ministry for road safety management, the issue is a multipronged and shared responsibility of many ministries — Home, Health and Family Welfare, Urban Development, Law and Justice, Heavy Industries, Human Resource Development, Environment, Petroleum, Defence, Planning and Finance, among others.
Strong political will
To begin with, a strong political will is required, and the most effective initiation needs to be from the Prime Minister.
An appropriate example is that of France. Notable progress has been made since 2002, a landmark year in terms of road safety policy in the country. In the wake of a personal statement by President Jacques Chirac to initiate a system of capacity building with accountability, the number of road deaths in France fell from 7,720 to 5,232 (a reduction of 32.5 per cent) between 2002 and 2005. This trend has been continuing.
The number of recorded road deaths in India — 1,40,000 annually — is the highest in the world. In addition, an estimated 2.2 million people are seriously injured on roads.
Road safety is the inert virtue behind an efficient traffic management system. Safety is the manifestation in each of the components of traffic management which includes the domains of traffic engineering with the codes and standards thereof, vehicle regulation, elements and methodology of driver training and assessment, traffic enforcement, public awareness and post crash management.
Diagnostic tools
In order to diagnose the problems leading to unsafe roads, the most important is scientific investigation of road accidents.
This is our weakest area today — that we are unable to know the causes and consequences of road accidents.
Policemen who investigate crashes are neither professionally trained, nor do they possess the basic tools to collect evidence, and analyse and reconstruct the events leading to the crash.
It is crucial to introduce the science of traffic engineering to each and every road authority.
The process of change should be based upon indigenous research and verified practices that are applicable to the needs of the country. This demands a paradigm shift from the ‘dependence upon consultancies’ approach.
capacity building in a safe traffic management system will contribute directly to building the economy of India.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways should initiate the process of road safety management by first building the capacity of the department.
By taking lead from transport departments of successful governments such as the Department for Transport, U.K., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S., and the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), the Ministry should deliberate on creating the government’s own expertise and knowledge base in all areas of legislation, transport planning, traffic engineering, traffic enforcement, driver training and education, post-crash management, as well as integration of road transport with rail, inland waterways (as has been announced), maritime shipping and air traffic. These sub-departments with their expertise would be able support all States and Union Territories towards building their capacity as well.
| Prioritizing Road Safety in India | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Alkesh Tyagi*
The UN General Assembly has adopted 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety and set a goal for reducing fatalities from road accidents by 50 percent during the period recognizing the severe impact of road accidents on global health. Every year about 1.2 million people die and 50 million get affected in road accidents globally losing 1.2 trillion US Dollars in these accidents, says Mr. K K Kapila, Chairman, International Road Federation. According to the World Health Organization unless concerted action is taken, road traffic injuries are predicted to become the fifth leading cause of death in the world by 2030.
With the growing urbanization and vehicular traffic, the issue of safety on roads also keep growing in terms of concerns and solutions. The concern becomes all the more relevant in view of the fact that number of persons killed in road accidents in India is the highest in the world. More than 4.97 lakh road accidents in 2011 are reported to have claimed over 1.42 lakh lives. These numbers translate into roughly one road accident per minute and one road accident death every four minutes for India.
Though the data for the year 2012 shows a declining trend with over 4.90 lakh accidents claiming 1.38 lakh lives, still the number is too high to give reason to breathe easy. The analysis of road accidents in terms of causal factor’s reveals that drivers’ fault accounts for 78.7 per cent (3,85,934 accidents) of total road accidents. The reason behind fault may vary from alcohol/drugs to mobile addiction, overloading/overcrowding of vehicles, exceeding lawful speed and tiredness etc. Since drivers’ fault has been found responsible for about 80% road accidents, it is important to make them aware and realize that they are the killers on roads when they violate the laws/measures.
Road Safety is being prioritized at Political Level. The focus is shifting from ad-hoc Road Safety Activities to Sustainable Programmes. A systematic state capacity review of the existing road safety management system has been recommended while formulating long term goals, interim targets, strategies and programmes. This includes a high-level multi-sectoral strategic examination of a range of activities and involves senior management from the key governmental agencies - Transport, Police, Health, Justice and Education, who may not all be actively engaged as yet– as well as all other stakeholders who are able and should contribute to the delivery of road safety results.
The Ministry of RTH has taken steps to minimize road accidents in the country. The Government has approved a National Road Safety Policy. This Policy outlines various policy measures such as promoting awareness, establishing road safety information data base, encouraging safer road infrastructure including application of intelligent transport, enforcement of safety laws etc. The Government has constituted National Road Safety Council as the apex body to take policy decisions in matters of road safety. The Ministry has requested all States/UTs for setting up of State Road Safety Council and District Road Safety Committees.
The Ministry has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on four E’s of Road Safety that is Education, Enforcement, Engineering (roads as well as vehicles) and Emergency care. Road safety has been made an integral part of road design at the planning stage. Road Safety Audit of selected stretches of National Highways/Expressways adopted. Driving training institutes being established, Tightening of safety standards of vehicles like helmets, seat belts, power-steering, rear view mirror and Publicity campaigns on road safety awareness.
Besides observing Road Safety Week, media campaigns through Doordarshan and Radio networks, Printing and distribution of Road Safety material, advertisements in newspapers and organizing conferences/seminars/ workshops on Road Safety, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways continues to undertake new initiatives to ensure road safety.
These include efforts for inclusion of a chapter on road safety in the
· Text books of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus in Class VI to Class XII. State Governments have also been advised to include Road Safety education in the curriculum of the schools administered by the State Education Board.
· Providing cashless treatment to road accident victims for 48 hours at expenditure up to a limit of Rs. 30,000/-a pilot project launched on Gurgaon-Jaipur section of NH 8.
· Identification of top 25 black spots in 13 States which account for 90% of road accidents in India. The short term remedial measures have been completed for most of the black spots identified.
· Finalisation of National Ambulance Code based on the recommendations of the Working Group on Emergency care. This ’Code’ puts in place minimum standards and guidelines regarding the constructional and functional requirements of road ambulances in India.
· Notifying Consignments protruding beyond the body of goods carrier as illegal.
The strategy for ensuring road safety being multi-pronged, many government departments share responsibility for road safety. Special arrangements are required to put in place to ensure close co-ordination and accountability. For ensuring better coordination among key Government agencies concerned with road safety including local government, all the State Governments have been advised to constitute High Level Committees headed by the Chief Secretary to take stock of the road safety scenario in their States and the measures required to be instituted at the State level to reduce road accident fatalities. The States have been advised to prepare action plan on road safety for their States. The States’ annual action plan on road safety needs to set ambitious but realistic targets for at least five years. It should have measurable outcomes and sufficient funding to develop, implement, manage, monitor and evaluate actions. All the States/UTs have been asked to identify a lead agency in the State and also set up Road Safety Fund at the State level by earmarking 50% of the funds generated from fines on account of violation of traffic rules.
Though UN decade of action plan to reduce road fatalities by 50% started in 2011, after three years much needs to be done. In India, budget for Road Safety needs to be enhanced and proper road safety plans/ mechanism to be in place in all the States. It needs to be ensured that orders relating to Road Safety that exist are followed strictly and violation punished. Parliamentarians and corporate world may be engaged by way of diverting a part of funds from MPLAD and CSR and contributing for the cause of Road Safety. The collective efforts of all stakeholders are bound to make significant impact on making roads safer, arresting human suffering due to road related mishaps and achieving goals set by UN.
Despite ‘best roads’, Delhi sees most traffic deaths
---About 40 busloads of citizens die on the capital’s roads every year but the deaths do not shock anyone, and governments over the years have done little to stop it. (In the six years from 2008 to 2013, more than 12,300 people died in road accidents here. Last year alone, there were 1,820 deaths.)
---An assessment of road accidents done by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) reveals that not only does Delhi have the most dangerous roads in the country but pedestrians and bikers are at the greatest risk on them. On average, five persons die in road accidents every day, and four of them are either pedestrians or two wheeler riders. ---Taken design-wise, signal-free arterial roads are the most dangerous. Ironically, roads that have received the maximum government attention and re sources for widening and signal-free movement have the highest accident rates.Eight key arterial roads, designed to be high-speed corridors, record nearly 75% of all deaths in Delhi. Even the areas around bus terminals and metro stations were found to be highly accident-prone. Mumbai records far more accidents—25,000 in 2012—but the number of deaths is around 500. Even Chennai, with 9,000 accidents annually has 1,350 fatalities. However, Delhi has the highest percentage of fatal accidents. Last year, 1,820 persons died in 7,566 accidents. Traffic experts say violation of rules is rampant in Delhi, and speeding is a common offence due to the better road conditions. This year, more than 3 lakh motorists have been challaned for jumping signals and 45,158 for speeding. Also, more than 14,000 cases of drunken driving have been detected. 
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