ROADS TO HELL

India ranks No.1. in road crashes and in near future none can compete for this position. Shrinking road space and increasing motors on roads ; increasing income levels and the buying capacity and decreasing number of rule abiding citizens -like this every factor that we come across works against reducing road crashes. Almost 1,50,000 die on the roads of India. The repercussions are very heavy and hurting. But none in this nation is bothered about this 'road virus' .

The media in India is obsessed with politics and cinema alone. God save the people.

National Road Safety Policy

The National Road Safety Policy is as under :-

 I. Preamble

The Government of India is deeply concerned about the growth in the number of road accidents, injuries and fatalities in recent years. It recognizes that road accidents have now become a major public health issue, and the victims are mainly the poor and vulnerable road users. 

2. The Government of India further recognizes that as road accidents involve roads, motor vehicles as also the human beings, road safety needs to be addressed on a holistic basis. It also recognizes that regardless of jurisdictions, the Central and State Governments have a joint responsibility in reducing the incidence of road

accidents, injuries and fatalities. 

3. In the light of this, the Government of India, through this National Road Safety Policy, states its commitment to bring about a significant reduction in mortality and morbidity resulting from road accidents.

II. Policy Statements

In order to achieve a significant improvement in road safety, the Government of India is committee to:

(i) Raise Awareness about Road Safety Issues

The Government would increase its efforts to promote awareness about the various aspects of road safety, the social and economic implications of road accidents and what needs to be done to curb the rising menace of road

accidents. This would enable and empower the different stakeholders to play a meaningful role in promoting road safety.

(ii) Establish a Road Safety Information Database

The Government will provide assistance to local bodies, Union Territories and States to improve the quality of crash investigation and of data collection, transmission and analysis. A National Road Safety Information System will be

established for providing continuity and policy guidelines to this activity.

(iii) Ensure Safer Road Infrastructure

The Government will take measures to review standards pertaining to safety in the design of rural and urban roads and bring them in consonance with international best practices keeping in view Indian traffic conditions. Continuingapplication of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) under a national framework to establish a safe and efficient transport system will be encouraged.

(iv) Safer Vehicles

The Government will take steps to ensure that safety features are built in at the stage of design, manufacture, usage, operation and maintenance of both motorized and non-motorized vehicles in line with international standards and practices in order to minimize adverse safety and environmental effects of vehicle operation on road users (including pedestrians and bicyclists) and infrastructure.

(v) Safer Drivers

The Government will strengthen the system of driver licensing and training to improve the competence and capability of drivers. 

(vi) Safety of Vulnerable Road Users

The design and construction of all road facilities (rural and urban) will take into account the needs of non-motorized transport and the vulnerable and physically challenged in an appropriate manner. The Government will seek to disseminate ‘best practices’ in this regard to town planners, architects, and highway and traffic engineers.

(vii) Road Traffic Safety Education and Training

Road safety knowledge and awareness will be created amongst the population through education, training and  publicity campaigns. Road safety education will also focus on school children and college going students, while road safety publicity campaigns will be used to propagate good road safety practices among the community. The Government will encourage all professionals associated with road design, road construction, road network management, traffic management and law enforcement to attain adequate knowledge of road safety issues. 

(viii) Enforcement of Safety Laws

The Government will take appropriate measures to assist various state and other governments to strengthen and improve the quality of enforcement in order to ensure effective and uniform implementation of safety laws. The Government will actively encourage the establishment and strengthening of highway Patrolling on

National and State Highways in cooperation with State Governments and Union Territories as appropriate. 

(ix) Emergency Medical Services for Road Accidents The Government will strive to ensure that all persons involved in road accidents benefit from speedy and effective trauma care and management. The essential

functions of such a service would include the provision of rescue operation and administration of first aid at the site of an accident and the transport of the victim from accident site to nearby hospital. Hospitals alongside the National Highways and State Highways would be adequately equipped to provide for trauma care

and rehabilitation.

(x) HRD & Research for Road Safety

The Government will encourage increased activity in programmes of road safety research by identifying priority areas, funding research in those area adequately and establishing centers of excellence in research and academic institutions. The Government will facilitate dissemination of the result of research and identified

examples of good practices through publication, training, conferences, workshops and websites.

(xi) Strengthening Enabling Legal, Institutional and Financial Environment for Road Safety

The Government will take appropriate measures to ensure that the required legal, institutional and financial environment for road safety are further strengthened and a mechanism for effective coordination of various stakeholders is put in place. The reforms in these areas would provide for the active and extensive participation of the community at large, of the private sector, academia and NGOs.

III. Implementation Strategy

The Government has decided to establish a dedicated agency viz. a National Road Safety Board to oversee the issues related to road safety and evolve effective strategies for implementation of the Road Safety Policy. The

Government has also decided to establish a National Road Safety Fund to finance road activities through the allocation of a certain percentage of the cess  on gasoline and diesel.