By: Basant Tanwar, Bureau Chief-ICN Haryana
Road Accidents Mitigation Measures taken by MoRTH in recent past
NEW DELHI: It is clear from the report that road accidents are multi-causal which requires multipronged measures to mitigate the problem through concerted efforts of all agencies concerned, both in the Central Government and State Governments. These measures can be broadly divided into road and vehicles engineering; education and awareness for drivers and the general public; enforcement of road safety laws and trauma care facilities.
Road accidents mitigation measures which are within the purview of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways include road engineering design for safety, proper road marking and signages; safety standards for vehicles like use of seat-belts, helmets etc., education and awareness campaigns and programmes. The various accidents mitigation measures taken up by the Ministry in recent past are as follows:
Road engineering measures
1.Identification and rectification of accident black spots: So far, 789 accident black spots have been identified in consultation with the States/UTs, of which 651 spots are on the National Highways and 138 are on State Roads or with other agencies. In case of the black spots on National Highways, a total of 140 spots have been rectified; 80 spots awarded for rectification works; 40 spots are at bidding stage; 163 spots are being taken care as part of the ongoing development projects; and the balance are at different stages of survey investigations. The Ministry ensures that immediate cautionary and speed reduction measures are installed at the black spots till they are rectified through long term measures.
2.Road Safety Audits: Road Safety Audits at different stages have been made part and parcel of all road development projects on EPC and BOT modes. Stand-alone Road Safety Audits have been sanctioned on National Highways in a length of about 400 km in 2016-17 and in a further length of 980 km in 2017-18 till August, 2017.
3.Installation of crash barriers: Installation of crash barriers in accident prone areas in hilly States have been sanctioned in a length of 143 km at a cost of Rs. 88 crore in 2016-17. Crash barriers in a further length of 137 km at a cost of Rs 85 crore have been sanctioned in 2017-18 till August 2017. These are at different stages of bidding.
4.Road Safety Annual Plans: A separate Road Safety Annual Plan has been framed for improvement of road safety at selected locations on the National Highways. A total of 11 (nos.) road safety improvement works at a cost of Rs 255 crore have been sanctioned in 2016-17 which are in different stages of execution. Road Safety Annual Plan for 2017-18 has also been approved and the proposals are in different stages of investigations.
5.Safety furniture in road projects: Provision of essential road safety furniture like road signs/markings, delineators etc., has been specified for all road development projects including re-surfacing works and riding quality improvement works.
6.Assistance for Road Safety Engineering works on State roads: Central Road Fund (CRF) Rules have been amended in June 2016 earmarking 10% of the CRF funds for Road Safety Engineering works on State Roads. Detailed guidelines have been issued 49 and all the States and UTs have been requested to take up road safety improvement works on State Roads as per these guidelines at selected locations.
7.Training and capacity building: Training courses and training workshops have been organized for building capacity in road safety audits and road safety engineering. A Certificate Course for Road Safety Auditors is being conducted by Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) which is a training institute under Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. First batch of 20 Auditors have already been certified and second batch is in progress. Two National level workshops and several regional training workshops in different States have been organized in which more than 1000 engineers have been given training in road safety engineering and road safety audits.
Vehicular safety standards and IT enabled safety measure
1.Vehicular Safety Standards: Trucks are prohibited from carrying protruding rods; Anti-locking Brake System (ABS) made mandatory on Heavy Vehicles; Cars to have provision for fitment of at-least one child seat. Car Crash Standards to be made mandatory w.e.f., 1st April, 2018; ABS/CBS for Two Wheelers mandated w.e.f. 1 st April, 2018; AHO (Automatic Headlight On) made mandatory for Two Wheelers to make them more conspicuous; Bus Body Code for safer and comfortable buses; Truck Body Code for safe cabins to drivers and other road users; Mandatory Fitment of Speed Governors on Transport Vehicles to avoid over speeding.
2.Buses with IT enabled safety measures under NIRBHAYA SCHEME: The Ministry has issued notification that all public service vehicles, (except two and three wheelers, e-rickshaws) have to be equipped with or fitted with vehicle location tracking device and one or more emergency buttons. The vehicle location tracking device and emergency button shall be fitted by the manufacturer or their dealer or the respective operator. Education and Awareness
1.Model Institutes of Drivers Training and Research (IDTR): The Ministry is implementing a scheme for setting up of Model Institutes of Drivers Training and Research (IDTR) by States/UTs. So far 24 (nos.) ITDRs have been sanctioned in different States/UTs and about 16 are complete and functioning.
2.Awareness and Publicity: The Ministry observes Road Safety Week every year with the objective of spreading awareness about road safety. The 28th Road Safety Week was observed from 9th to 15th January 2017 during which mass awareness programmes such as Road Safety Walk, essay competition for children, radio talk shows, street plays were organised. A mobile app –
Challan was launched by the Ministry to support the enforcement of traffic rules and transport laws by the State Police and Transport Departments.
Post-crash response and trauma care
- i) Good Samaritans Guidelines: Guidelines have been issued by the Ministry to prevent the harassment of “Good Samaritans” who help road accident victims. The 50 Hon’ble Supreme Court has accepted these guidelines and has asked the States for implementation.
- ii) Effective Trauma Care: The National Highways Authority (NHAI) provides ambulances at a distance of 50-60 km on its completed stretches of National Highways. Cranes and ambulances are provided to various State Governments under the National Highway Accident Relief Service Scheme.
These were some interesting analysis of the data which is showing a different picture of accidents however we are not aware on the % of accidents which are going un noticed or unreported. As per a UN report, India’s GDP takes approx 3% hit every year due to road accidents, equivalent to over $58 billion ( INR 58,000,000,000) in value terms,.
Considering severity and magnitude of road accident Government of India shall declare this issue a national disaster and take corrective measures accordingly. Data analysis comparing with other countries shows a better picture of our country but the hard facts is that the ultimate loss of life and cost are on a huge scale. Comparison of per lac accident death and injury seems less in comparing with the world but what is the overall death and loss does not give a better picture.
We are far behind the world in comparison of technology in road safety, vehicle standard safety and response time from government agencies post-accident. Its good that Government of India is taking progressive steps to curb the road incident but as a responsible citizen of our country We should not forget the responsibility of safe driving.
