It is, outside conflict zones, the most dangerous place on earth, a strip of lawless asphalt where an angry army of humans and a bewildering variety of vehicular traffic battle for space and the right of way.
Pedestrians
Pedestrians and cyclists form a major chunk of casualties.
It is, quite literally, a death trap. India's killer roads account for more deaths than any other single cause, from terrorism to natural disasters. Every hour, 13 people die due to road accidents, the highest in the world. Every 10th person who dies in road accidents is an Indian.
Every day, about 250 people die in road accidents, or an astonishing 1,14,590 each year. That's a horrific number and even more horrific considering that the majority of fatalities are the sole earning members of their families: 85 per cent are male and 70 per cent are in the working age group of 30 to 59 years.
It is estimated that road accidents cause an estimated loss of 1 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. According to the World Bank, developing countries lose approximately $100 billion every year due to road crashes, which is twice the amount of all development aid provided by donors to developing countries.
Even scarier is the fact that road fatalities in India have been rising at the rate of 8 per cent a year and, paradoxically, have only increased even as massive amounts of money have been pumped into improving roads and adding new highways, flyovers and expressways.
The BMW trial
At 4.50 a.m., on January 10, 1999, an inebriated Sanjeev Nanda, grandson of former Indian Navy chief Admiral S.M. Nanda, rammed his new BMW at high speed into a police checkpoint on Lodhi Road, killing six people-half of them policemen-while returning from a late night party with friends Manik Kapoor and Siddharth Gupta. The only survivor of the accident, Manoj, turned hostile and the other eyewitness, Sunil Kulkarni, was declared unreliable by the prosecution but made to depose. Criminal lawers R.K. Anand and I.U. Khan were caught on camera offering money to Kulkarni. Having served his sentence, Nanda is a free man now.
In India, it's a tragic conundrum; the better the road, the faster the traffic will go, but with lax enforcement, few rules and safety factors, it only leads to more deaths. One study showed that a 10 per cent increase in speed leads to a 30 per cent increase in road accident fatalities.
Here's another shocking statistic: a leading cause of road deaths is drunk drivers but only between 2 and 8 per cent of cases involving drunken driving actually make it to court. Other factors that lead to the high incidence of road accidents: poor traffic management, bad roads, total lack of observance of traffic rules, no legal deterrents, corrupt traffic police, jaywalking pedestrians and a deadly mix of slow and fast-moving traffic, including the fact that a sizable number of fatalities due to road accidents is avoidable for want of better road safety management and availability of prompt medical help.
In fact, the Global Status Report on Road Safety (GSRRS) by the World Health Organization says it is the low level of enforcement of simple road safety measures in India, like prohibition and monitoring of drunken driving, wearing of seat belts and child restraints, and checks on speeding, that leads to a majority of deaths.
A
A variety of road users, including non-motorised vehicles and cattle, provide a breeding ground for mishaps.
According to a study by a leading hospital in Delhi, merely enforcing sobriety checks and carrying out random breath-testing can bring down alcohol-related crashes by 20 per cent. Drunken driving accounts for 29 per cent of deaths involving motorised two-wheelers. Similarly, wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of death by 40 per cent, while wearing seat belts can reduce the fatality by 50 per cent for front seat passengers. The tragedy is that these basic road safety measures are either not followed or are blatantly violated in India.
Says Kiran Bedi, who was named 'Crane Bedi' for her attempts to curb traffic violations while serving as traffic commissioner in Delhi: "Road safety can only come if all the three partners related to roads are dealt with together-the enforcers or the traffic police, users and those who are living on the roads. But even today traffic is the most ignored department in the police."
That is also reflected in the plethora of agencies responsible for road construction, safety and traffic management of highways. Out of the existing 70,548 km of national highways, 42,469 km is with state Public Works Departments, 19,596 km with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), 3,992 km with the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), and 4,491 km is yet to be entrusted to any agency.
Inmany cases, under the increasingly popular Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) scheme, stretches of expressways and flyovers are run by private construction companies which tend to cut corners by not sticking to original plans of adequate thoroughways for pedestrians in the form of overbridges or underpasses. Indeed, "vulnerable road users" (pedestrians, cyclists and motorised two-wheeler riders) account for 84 per cent of deaths in cities and 67 per cent on highways.
Salman's story
On September 29, 2002, Salman Khan's Land Cruiser crashed at high speed into the American Express Bakery, Bandra, killing one person and injuring four pavement dwellers. Khan was inebriated at the time of the accident and driving fast according to Ravindra Patil, Khan's bodyguard and prime witness, who was in the car. However, in a predictable twist, Khan claimed the driver was at the wheel and he was a passenger. Four years later, a local court discharged five witnesses after the prosecution said it did not wish to examine them while the other key witnesses injured in the accident turned hostile. The case is pending.
The World Bank has expressed concern over the tardy progress of road safety measures on some of the on-going highway projects in India, saying that no new rules have been framed for safety management despite contracts which provide for safety management, constant monitoring and rating the contractors on these important parameters at worksites.
The GSRRS report emphasises the need for a multi-pronged approach involving psychologists, engineers, doctors, police, sociologists and vehicle experts to deal with road accident deaths as a public health issue. The problem is that road traffic in India essentially remains a civil engineering issue. Says S. Gangopadhyay, director of Central Road Research Institute (CRRI): "As many as 80 per cent of the fatalities on roads involve pedestrians because they are given the least priority."
The GSRRS report says: "In many countries (read India) roads are planned and built to allow motor vehicles to travel faster while insufficient thought is given to the needs of pedestrians and cyclists."
The homeless who sleep on the road, and form a vulnerable group, are also classified as pedestrians. The 2001 Census estimates that 7,78,599 urban homeless live on roads. Overspeeding was found to be the single biggest reason for pedestrian deaths and injuries.
The high profile cases involving Sanjeev Nanda and Salman Khan hitting pedestrians or running over people sleeping on the pavement are not isolated instances. Such cases account for 1,000 pedestrian deaths every year.
In Indian cities, the outer areas are generally not provided with subways, pedestrian bridges, paved pavements and zebra crossings. It is here that enforcement of traffic rules is relatively slack, according to the study carried out by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore.
Behind the bloodbath
* High incidence of drunk driving and increasing incidents of road rage
* Penalties for rash and negligent driving not strict enough to act as a major deterrent
* First-aid and medical support apparatus for accident victims virtually absent. Experts say fatality rates can be drastically reduced if victims get proper treatment in time.
* Poor maintenance and overloading of vehicles along with high congestion on highways. Expressways have increased average speed without introducing safety measures.
* Most highways and expressways do not have overbridges or subways
* Poor road design as road construction industry is highly unorganised; there is no record of the number of contractors, their background or capabilities
* Homeless people who sleep and live on pavements are vulnerable, especially at night due to poor lighting and rash driving
The biggest killer, however, can be seen when you stand at any point overlooking a major thoroughfare and key traffic points in any big city. What you will see and hear is a ear-splitting cacophony of blaring horns and human voices screaming curses as both slow and fast-moving traffic jostle for space on roads that lack segregation.
Pedestrians, cyclists, bullock carts, tractors and two-wheelers compete with cars, trucks and buses, all driving at varying speeds. Many vehicles are poorly maintained-gridlock is one result, accidents another.
Another issue is that while expressways and flyways are meant to allow traffic to move faster, they have no provision for slow-moving traffic like overloaded trucks, tempos and even tractors. The GSRRS report makes a special mention of the first project in India that aims to segregate traffic in Delhi.
The first phase of the much-maligned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor has been operational for about a year now and no motorcycle or bicycle fatality has been reported so far along this stretch. While the jury is still out, accidents on expressways because of mixed traffic continue to increase. In a bizarre accident on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, seven people, including three policemen, were killed while trying to rescue another accident victim after an overloaded tractor trolley overturned when one of its wheels came off.
Ultimately, however, it is the total lack of traffic sense, reckless drivers and poor driving skills that cause most road deaths. Gangopadhyay says that as many as 80 per cent of road accidents are caused by the faulty behaviour of road users.
Poor
Poor public transport is a major cause of accidents
"There are no rules as long as we fail to provide road users with relevant information through proper signages, traffic lights, zebra crossings and training people to drive properly. How would you enforce lane discipline if you do not have lanes marked on the road?" he asks. He adds that faulty bus stand designs and improper locations contribute in a major way to road accidents.
Not surprisingly, the cities that have the most road accident deaths (see box) are also the ones that rank high on road rage cases, suggesting a connection between urban stress and pressures and poor traffic management. "Many people drive with intense rage. They have no fear of the consequences of driving dangerously," says Rajat Mitra, a criminal psychologist who heads the Swanchetan Society for Mental Health.
The lack of fear is directly linked to weak laws, lack of deterrents and weaker implementation. In India, it is common to see motorcycles being driven at high speed by riders without helmets. In most countries, this is a major crime. More than one serious driving offence can lead to the cancellation of the licence but in India, no such deterrent exists.
Nanda was jailed for drunken driving because his case became a media sensation and he came from a high profile family. In most cases, the matter gets sorted out with the payment of money to the victims, who are mostly poor. This informal and out-of-court settlement is brokered with the help of policemen who also earn a cut.
While drunken driving and dangerous driving remain the only cognizable offences under the Motor Vehicle Act of 1988, the level of conviction is abysmally low. That is something the Supreme Court knows all too well.
In March, after a 16-year-old boy died due to a bus-autorickshaw collision, the trial court imposed a sentence of one-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. However, the Karnataka High Court allowed the driver's appeal by increasing the fine amount in lieu of doing away with the jail term.
Overload factor
On May 29, 2009, seven people, including three policemen, died and 11 others were critically injured when a truck ran over them on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway. The mishap happened when an overloaded tractor trolley overturned and policemen trying to rescue a man stuck in the trolley were hit by the speeding vehicle. Similarly, in March 2009, a 19-year-old student, Rahul Anand, died trying to save a pedestrian on the Gurgaon Expressway, making him one of the 160 people killed on this road.
The apex court bench had to intervene and dismissed the high court order, saying: "Any liberal attitude by imposing meagre sentences or taking too sympathetic a view… is counterproductive in the long run and against the social interest which needs to be strengthened by a string of deterrence in-built in the sentencing system."
Adding fuel to the fire is a lax and corrupt licensing system that sends a clear message: you can drive a car without knowing traffic rules. In reality, driving licences are like a licence to kill. In many states, notably Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, there is no need to even go to the licensing authority to get a licence made, thanks to touts.
Raids by Delhi's Anti-Corruption Branch have exposed the corruption in the system which allows people to get licences without taking the mandatory driving test. Many socalled driving schools function more as middlemen who get licences without any mandatory checks
Public transport accounts for a major portion of road deaths, and sleep deprivation and abnormal sleep patterns have emerged as a major problem. A recent study by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) found that 60 per cent of accidents were due to insufficient sleep or abnormal sleeping habits of professional drivers.
Truck and long distance bus drivers are the prime culprits. In fact, the major death traps in India, according to statistics, are the Delhi-Jaipur expressway (where Michelle Vadra, the sister-inlaw of Priyanka Gandhi, was killed in 2001), the Gurgaon Expressway, the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway in Gujarat, and the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor.
There is also another killer: the lack of speedy medical help and transfer to a hospital. One tragic example is that of 19-year-old hotel management student Rahul Anand who rammed his car into a parked water tanker on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway trying to avoid a pedestrian who was running across the road in March this year. No help arrived for the next 45 minutes by which time it was too late.
Safer streets
* Speed checks help as pedestrians have a 90 per cent chance of surviving a car accident when hit at speeds below 45 kmph
* Random breath testing can reduce alcohol-related crashes by up to 20 per cent
* Wearing a helmet correctly can reduce the risk of death by 40 per cent and the risk of severe injuries by 70 per cent
* Wearing seat belts reduces the risk of fatality among front seat passengers by almost 40-50 per cent, and among back seat passengers by 25-75 per cent
* The mandatory use of child restraints can reduce child deaths by 35 per cent
Source: GSRRS
Says his distraught father K.S. Anand: "Had they provided for a safe passage to pedestrians and emergency ambulance services my son would have been alive." He has sued the NHAI and the expressway operator.
Adds M.C Misra, chief of the Trauma Centre at AIIMS: "Fatality figures can be reduced substantially if victims are given correct first-aid and rushed to the hospital as soon as possible." He mentions road accident victims who have been brought to the trauma centre nine hours after the accident. Even the capital has only 35 ambulances earmarked for road accidents.
There is also the fact that most Indians are reluctant to get involved in a road accident case either because it make them a witness in a police case or because the mental makeup is not wired to helping strangers.
Says Subroto Roy, founder of Lifeline, an ambulance service: "While prevention of accidents is of paramount importance, the safety of the victim after an accident has occurred is equally important but often a neglected part of motor vehicle issues. It has never been given the importance of being a multi-stakeholder activity in India."
Dead wrong
In December last year, nine people were crushed inside the Qualis when a truck coming from the opposite direction and on the wrong side of the road rammed into them at the Panvel-Thane junction of Navi Mumbai. The crushed vehicle had to be cut to extricate the bodies. The driver fled the scene before the police arrived. Reckless driving and high fatigue levels of truck drivers have made the Mumbai-Pune Expressway a death trap during certain hours. During the wee hours trucks move in the wrong lanes and run into unsuspecting vehicles. In May last year, 14 people of a marriage party were killed at 4.30 a.m. when they collided with a tanker which had slowed down near Panvel.
He adds: "Moreover, road safety, like any other safety issue, is not a priority in India. We do not have structured good Samaritan laws that bind the psyche of Indians to intervene in a road traffic accident. Worse still, we are very apathetic to a fellow road user's pain."
The fact is that there are too many vehicles on our roads which are built without any foresight or care for future projection of traffic volumes. The Indian capital alone adds nearly 1,000 cars every day to the existing traffic.
Vehicular traffic in India is growing at the rate of 10 per cent per year and still the government and local agencies responsible for road safety and traffic management have been dangerously tardy in their response.
The National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board recommended by the Sundar Committee way back in 2004 was only created last week and will take many more weeks, if not years, to get down to business.
The Central Government's position has been that the safety of road users is primarily the responsibility of the concerned state governments, which, being resource-hungry, treat road safety as a low priority area.
A conference-Road Safety Investments in India-organised last year by the Institute of Road Traffic Education and the Commission for Global Road Safety made specific recommendations about the political prioritisation of road safety in India, implementation of a single road safety administration, investment of 10 per cent of the road construction and maintenance budgets for road safety management.
The conference also called for the creation of road safety awareness at all levels, development of tools and systems for driver training and stricter licensing process, updating of road design and traffic engineering standards, and the development of new standards and implementation of scientific traffic management and road safety audits.
It's a tall order but all these are issues that need to be urgently addressed if India wants to have any chance of taming its killer roads.
Source
Read more...
