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Higher penalties for traffic rule violations, common toll-free emergency number for accident victims, better utilisation of existing ambulances and regular road safety audits are some of the recommendations of a Road Transport Ministry's expert group set up to improve the road safety in India. But, the Road Transport Ministry was unable to provide a specific date by which some of the key recommendations could be implemented.
HIGHEST ROAD DEATHS
India has reported the highest number of road fatalities among all countries in the world. In 2010, there were about 1.3 lakh deaths and 5 lakh injuries on Indian roads. “These numbers translate into one road accident every minute, and one road accident death every four minutes,” Mr A.K. Upadhyay, Secretary, Road Transport Ministry, stated.
“Every road should be safety audited to identify and rectify the road design flaws that could cause accidents,” Mr A.V. Sinha, former DG – Roads, Ministry of Road Transport, said. He headed a sub-committee on providing engineering-related recommendations for improving road safety.
NATIONAL TOLL FREE NUMBER
“There is a need to improve utilisation of existing ambulances and provide a national toll-free emergency number,” Dr Angel Singh, Department of Hospital Administration, AIIMS, said. For instance, there are 1,000 ambulances registered in Delhi, a city that requires only 300. In reality, only 30 are running, he said.
He added that there was need to improve coordination as on the same road stretches, there are ambulances provided by multiple agencies – Health Ministry, Road Transport Ministry, amongst others.
Having a common emergency relief toll-free number for the entire country is another key requirement. There are multiple toll-free numbers – 102, 1033, 1088 - that vary across geographies and agencies.
“The Road Transport Ministry can work with the Department of Telecom (DoT) for a common number across the country,” Dr Singh said.
He also stressed on the need to have common standards for crash rescue vehicles. Police should be empowered to prosecute overloaded vehicles, which are a key cause for accidents.
The Ministry is examining recommendations of the Working Groups. These recommendations will be deliberated by the National Road Safety Council (NSRC) and used for the 12th Five Year Plan.
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