ROAD SAFETY-Road Safety in Indian Cities

Sanjay K. Singh
Associate Professor of Economics,Indian Institute of Management,Lucknow

Source-URBAN MOBILITY,IRF BULLETIN

More than 240 people get killed every week in India's metropolitan cities(cities with populations of a million or more).There are 34 fatalities per week on the roads of Delhi alone!But,Delhi is not the riskiest city in the country.No less than 16 other metropolitan cities present a higher risk than Delhi.The level of risk in the cities of Uttar Pradesh,the most populous state of India,is more than twice that of the other cities in the country(see Figure).

Why then is the road safety situation so bad in so many cities of India?The main reason appears to be the prevailing imbalance in modal split coupled with inadequate transport infrastructure and its sub-optimal use.Very few cities have an adequate public transport system.People reply primarily on personalised modes such as cars and two-wheelers and para-transit modes such as cars and two-wwheelers and para-transit modes such as auto-rickshaws and tempos.In most of the cities,two-wheelers and cars account for over 90% of the vehicle population,whereas the share of buses is negligible.In general,the road space in cities is grossly insufficient and the problem of traffic accidents is further aggravated by the mixed nature of traffic composition.Experience shows that fatalities tend to be concentrated around roads that are dysfunctional in the sense that they are not fit for carrying such mixed streams of intense fast and slow moving traffic safely.Typical features aggravating injuries and fatalities include traffic volumes and speeds that the roads were simply not designed for,high proportions of young and inexperienced drivers and high levels of non-motorised transport users,such as cyclists and pedestrians,vying for the same road space.

Most of the traffic accidents are attributed to human error.For this reason,road safety initiatives traditionally focus on 'fixing' the driver in order to prevent crashes.While there can be doubt that approaches involving road safety education and enforcement are essential in curtailing traffic accidents,there is an equal and parellel need for more focus on mitigating te outcome of accidents by designing safer vehicles and safer roads.

Roads should be designed in such a way that they are not only self-explaining but also'forgiving'.Accidents are less likely to occur on self-explaining roads and injuries will tend to be fewer and less severe on forgiving roads.A self-explaining road shows road users precisely where they should be at any given moment and guides them on how to procees safely.For example,a simple
cost effective pedestrian refuge(a small raised and protected island)in the middle of the busy road ,where pedestrians can pause before continuing to cross,not only clearly indiacates where to cross,but also makes crossing much easier and safer.

Forgiving roads protect road users in the event of an accident.Road design must recognise that accidents can occur and ensure that injuries and fatalities are minimised.For example,simple engineering features like safely barriers can be used to separate fast moving vehicles from people.Similarly,crash cushions can be used to reduce the consequences of an accident.

While increased mobility is essential for economic development and the relief of poverty,it should not be at the cost of escalating fatality rates among the poorer and most vulnerable sections of society.Appropriate action needs to be taken that simultaneously addresses vehicles,user behaviour and the design of the roads themselves.A key part of the solution lies in accessing the networks of metropolitan cities and identifying those dysfunctional roads on which large numbers of road users are being killed or seriously injured.These roads should then be targeted for safety upgrading through affordable,cost effective measures.