Road accidents: India
This is a collection of newspaper articles selected for the excellence of their content. |
Causes of accidents
Main causes
From The Times of India, September 24, 2017
See graphic, 'The principal causes of —and categories of persons responsible for--accidents, fatalities'
Potholes, bad roads, signals (physical factors)
2015: bad roads and potholes increase deaths
The Times of India, Aug 01 2016
Dipak Dash
Bad roads killed over 10k people in 2015; 3,416 deaths due to potholes
In 2015, 10,727 people were killed in crashes caused by potholes, speed breakers and roads under repair or being constructed.Though fatalities under these categories had come down marginally from 2014, the number of people killed due to potholes rose to 3,416, from 3,039 in the previous year. Deaths caused by potholes rose seven-fold in Maharashtra, according to the surface transport ministry's road accidents report. A rise in such fatalities indicates fai lure of road-owning agencies to maintain stretches.
UP, known for its bad roads, reported an almost 50% reduction in pothole deaths compared to 2014. In Delhi, where a biker died after getting stuck in a pothole on Saturday , there were only two pothole deaths in 2015. According to data compiled by the road trans port ministry, 10,876 accidents were reported last year due to potholes across the country. “The number could be higher as we don't have a scientific data collection mechanism. Many accidents go unreported and there is no detailed investigation into causes of road deaths,“ said Ashish Kumar, former chief of the transport research wing.
Top road engineers working with government departments said until the drainage system was improved, roads would keep de veloping potholes. “Every city and town has a multiplicity of authorities and in most cases, both the sewerage and storm water drainage system are inadequate and inefficient. Drains have been covered with unauthorised construction. Any amount of repair won't work if you have stagnant water and overloaded vehicles plying on such stretches,“ a state public works department official said.
To make road owning agencies and traffic police accountable for failure on their part, the road transport ministry has finalised the Rules of Road Regulation.
2014: Deaths caused by potholes, speed breakers and humps on roads
The Times of India, Sep 14 2015
Dipak Dash
Over 11,000 killed by potholes, humps & speed breakers in 2014
4,000 died on roads under construction
Potholes and badly designed speed breakers don't just irritate drivers and damage vehicles. They actually kill. For the first time, the government recorded deaths caused by potholes, speed breakers and humps on roads. Last year, about 11,400 people died in such cases with Uttar Pradesh topping the list. Another 4,100 people were killed in crashes on stretches under repair or under construction. UP alone saw 4,455 lives being lost due to bad roads.
Other states with a high number of fatalities on these counts included Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal.
Maharashtra registered 368 deaths in crashes due to potholes, humps and speed breakers while another 224 died on roads under repair or under construction. According to the Road Accident Report (2014), while 4,726 lives were lost in crashes due to humps, 6,672 people died in accidents caused due to potholes and speed breakers. Sources said the actual figure could be much higher since the data was not properly captured by local police while registering accidents and in many cases these are recorded as any other crash.
UP had the largest share with 4,455 lives lost in such accidents. In MP , 915 people died in crashes caused due to bad road conditions and in Bihar, the fatalities stood at 867. In a first, the government's transport research wing has used data detailing about a dozen road conditions to classify crashes, fatalities and injuries.
While poor maintenance by road-owning agencies is the main reason behind potholes, experts said there was lack of uniformity and no standard design for speed breakers on most roads. Director of Indian Academy of Highway Engineers and former director general (roads) V L Patankar said most speed breakers on internal roads were “hugely dangerous“.“None follow design, curvature and location when constructing speed breakers. In most cases, locals put up speed breakers,“ he said.
2014: Junctions with blinkers more prone to accidents than places with signals
The Times of India, Sep 06 2015
Dipak Dash
`Junctions with blinkers more prone to accidents than places with signals'
Road crashes at traffic junctions with blinker or flash lights are more fatal in comparison to similar incidences at other such intersections, including ones with no traffic signals. According to the Road Accident report on 2014, at least three persons are killed in every 10 crashes at crossings with blinkers and the number of persons injured was higher than the total number of accidents. The latest road accident report shows that though the total share of crashes at `uncontrolled' intersections is over 76%, the fatalities are less than 20%. Similarly at crossings having traffic signals and are controlled by police, the rate of fatalities is around 20%.
The trend was similar in 2013 when 4,740 persons died in 14,690 crashes at crossings with blinkers. These accidents had left 17,411 injured.According to Delhi traffic police officials, commuters hardly follow norms at crossings with blinkers, which are primarily meant for warning the drivers at a crossing to slow down and move cautiously .
The death of former rural development minister Gopinath Munde in a road crash at a crossing which was on blinker mode had prompted the Delhi traffic police to turn some of the major signals around Lutyens' Delhi into signal mode past midnight. Since May this year, they have also de ployed over 50 traffic police men from 9pm to 6am at these crossings.
Traffic safety experts said that unfortunately even road owning agencies don't follow norms while installing blink ers at crossings or merging points. In most cases, the traf fic lights are even found to be non-functional. “There is no specific data of how many permanent traffic lights are pu on blinker mode in cities and towns during the day . We have yet to go a long way to get ade quate data to find out the exact reasons behind crashes and fatalities,“ said one of them.
The report also flags the point that traffic junctions are the most accident-prone areas as about 57% of tota accidents took place at junc tions in 2014.
2013-16: 11,000 deaths
From The Times of India, September 21, 2017
See graphics:
Pothole deaths, 2013-16, state-wise
State deaths due to potholes, state-wise and states deaths due to roads under repair or construction
2014: Deaths caused by potholes, speed breakers and humps on roads
Driving, parking on wrong side
Rules Disregarded Mostly To Save Time & Fuel; Cops Now Want Power To Seize Licence It is common enough to see cars in the city driving in a direction prohibited on that width of the road. Most streets in Delhi allow traffic to move in opposite directions on either side of the central divider. But often enough, the bunching up of traffic due to the traffic lights or a vehicle breaking down sends scores driving illegally on the wrong side of the divider. According to a traffic police study , almost 30% of road accidents are caused by this dangerous convenience of driving into oncoming traffic. Though the cops have already booked 1,53,891 drivers till date, they admit that it is a losing game. When TOI caught Suresh Kumar (name changed) a school van driver, driving on the wrong side on Mall Road near Delhi University with around 10 children in his Maruti Eeco recently , he pleaded that driving a few metres on the prohibited lane saved him fuel.
“There are no U-turns till Chhatra Marg and it is easier for me drive this way for a few metres,“ said Kumar, rather unapologetically .
Such expediency can prove fatal. In March, four people were severely injured when the BMW car they were travelling in rammed into four vehicles while driving on the wrong side near RK Puram. The driver explained that he was in a hurry to reach his destination and had lost control of the speeding car while trying to avoid autorickshaws parked by the roadside.
What aggravates the pro blem is the city's usual disregard for traffic rules and road etiquette. Drivers use every ruse in a me-first frenzy on the streets. Given this on-road belligerence, the traffic cops make only feeble attempts to impose discipline, like identifying 14 roads last year and deploying special teams to check motorists driving on the wrong side.
ii) Prosecutions;
iii) Penalty, 2016-17.
Police officers say that stretches with no central verge and ones pitted with holes or prone to traffic jams see the most cases of wrong-side driving. “The civic bodies and PWD must ensure that road dividers near the exits of colonies have adequate gaps to allow vehicles to cross,“ advised road expert KK Kapila. “Delhi Police must also start surveillance on marked stretches, including those near markets and malls, especially during weekends and peak school hours.“
Explaining why people look for easy ways out of congestions, Kapila pointed out, “It is said that six years of a city resident's life is spent in traffic snarls. Gridlocks cost seven million man hours and Rs 100 crore in productivity every year.“
Delhi Police has sought the permission of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety to seize licences for such violations. Currently , traffic police can recommend suspension or cancellation of licences to the transport department, which then sends a notice to the offender for the surrender of the licence.Mostly , however, the notices remained un-served. Even when asked to physically present themselves with the licence at a local transport office, violators often ignore the orders. A licence is considered valid so long as it is in the possession of the holder.
Other causes
Absence of driving license
2012-14: Accidents by no license holders rose by 54%
The Times of India Dec 21 2015
Dipak Dash
Accidents caused by drivers without licences increased by 54% between 2012 and 2014, according to data provided by the police departments of all states and Union Territories. In abso ute numbers, the accident count went up from 25,463 to 39,314. In the same period, drivers younger than 18 caused between 19,000 and 21,500 accidents.
Though the official count s evidently much less than actual numbers, it reflects the ree run such drivers seem to enjoy and the need to bring them to book. Transport ministry officials said local police hardly ever book such offenders or the owners of vehicles as they treat these as petty offences.
Global studies suggest drivers in the age group of 1619 are four times more likely to cause accidents compared to older drivers. Teenagers are also more likely to speed, jump traffic lights, take wrong turns and drive after consuming alcohol or drugs.Usually, no one favours taking action against young boys and girls, including their parents, transport ministry officials added.
“The actual number of vio ations, including under-age driving and without licence, is much higher as there is hardly any detection of such drivers in rural areas and small towns. We don't get proper data that can help us plan better and map the gaps. What we al so need is to educate parents and schoolgoing children,“ K K Kapila, chief of International Road Federation, said.
Interestingly, details sub mitted by the road transport ministry to Parliament last week said Delhi traffic police did not provide details on either count.
Absence of helmets, seat belts
2016: not wearing helmets, seat belts
ii) Age of persons killed
iii) Vehicles responsible for road deaths
iv) Cause of fatalities ; Dipak Dash, In 2016, not wearing helmets, seat belts killed 43 per day, August 14, 2017: The Times of India
About 28 two-wheeler riders died daily on Indian roads in 2016 for not wearing helmets and another 15 for not fastening their seatbelts, according to an analysis of data shared by states with the transport ministry.
The year was the deadliest with 31 people dying in every 100 road accidents. It has steadily increased from 21.6 deaths per 100 accidents in 2005 to 29.1 in 2015.
This is for the first time that police and transport departments in states have captured data on deaths caused due to riders not wearing helmet. States have reported that one of every five bike occupants who died in such crashes was not wearing a helmet and their total number was 10,135. Uttar Pradesh accounted for most such fatalities (3,818), followed by Tamil Nadu (1,946) and Maharashtra (1,113). A study by the United Nations last year had estimated that wearing a helmet improved chances of survival of bikers by 42%. Moreover, 5,638 people died for not wearing seatbelts in cars in 2016, with UP accounting for the most casualties (2,741).
Experts said the number of deaths due to not wearing of helmets and seatbelts could be more as the available data might not have captured the details in entirety.
According to the data, the total number of road deaths was nearly 1.51lakh in 2016 as compared to 1.46 lakh in 2015.About 68% of the total number of people killed were in the age group of 18-45 years, which is the most productive age. Last year, transport minister Nitin Gadkari had termed the situation as “an emergency“.
Two-wheelers remained the most unsafe mode of transport, not just for the riders but also posed maximum danger to others on the road. Crashes due to twowheelers resulted in 44,000 deaths while 52,500 riders died in road accidents, which is nearly 35% of the total road deaths in 2016. “Safe ty of two-wheeler occupants is a big issue not just in India but for the entire south-east Asian region where their share is the highest among all types of vehicles. But very little has been done for safety of occupants. Western solution won't help us in making our roads safer.There has to be specific policy intervention to meet our requirements,“ said road safety expert Rohit Baluja.
The transport ministry has taken some initiatives, including mandatory installation of anti-lock braking system in two-wheelers, which prevents the wheels from locking up during braking. Indian roads were equally unsafe for pedestrians. In comparison to 13,894 pedestrians killed in 2015, 15,796 pedestrians were crushed to death last year.Speeding and overtaking remained the biggest cause of road crashes.
The number of people killed in hit-and-run cases also increased from 20,709 in 2015 to 22,962 last year. “Huge number of productive youths dying in road accidents should trigger immediate improvement of laws and enforcement of traffic rules,“ said K K Kapila of International Road Federation.
Cell-/ mobile- phones
The Times of India, Aug 07 2016
Somreet Bhattacharya
Most drivers in dark about SC rule on phone use
More than threefourth of the drivers who were issued challans for talking over phone while driving were unaware of the Supreme Court ruling against it and the rest hoped they would escape the cops eye.
Seizing licences hardly acts as a deterrent for drivers who frequently abuse the ru le, the police said. According to a traffic police study , most people use headsets or call facilities in cars, which makes it difficult to catch defaulters.In the past one week, cops have seized 41 licences from around Connaught Place alone.
Talking while driving leads to most accidents on roads. Thursday's incident where Chhawla, a woman who lost control while driving, is one such case that happens on road almost every other day , the police said.
The police have planned to approach schools and colle ges in the next few weeks to sensitise teachers and students about the hazards of driving while using a mobile phone.
Since December 2015, the traffic police have issued challans to 3,899 drivers and have seized their licences. South Delhi reported maximum violations. Areas around Josip Tito Marg, Mathura Road and South Extension saw most violations. The police have seized 900 licences from areas around ITO crossing and Delhi Gate during the same period.
Sources said the use of echallan machines have made the job a little easier for the men on duty . These machines automatically issue a note for cancellation of licence when the nature of offence is punched in.
Earlier a penalty of Rs 1,000 was imposed under Section 184 of Motor Vehicles Act 1988, besides under Rule 17 (i & ii) of Rules of Road Regulations 1989, punishable under Section 177 MV Act 1988, since the offence is an act of dangerous driving. In extreme cases, Section 279 IPC (rash and negligent act) is imposed leading to arrest and seizure of vehicles, the police said.
A Supreme Court committee on road safety has recommended jail terms for reckless driving or Driving under the influence( DUI).
2016: Mobile use while on wheel killed 2,100
Dipak Dash, Using mobile while on wheel kills 2,100 in 1 yr, September 7, 2017: The Times of India
The use of mobile phones while driving claimed 2,138 lives last year while faulty speed-breakers, potholes and underconstruction roads accounted for 26 deaths on the roads every day , according to data released by the transport ministry . The maximum deaths due to use of mobile phones while driving were reported from UP, followed by Haryana. Delhi reported two deaths while Maharashtra registered 170 fatalities on this account.
This was the first time that the road transport ministry collected such data from each state. According to the report, 17 people died every hour in road accidents, which TOI had first reported on April 24. Officials ad mitted there is under-reporting of accidents caused due to use of mobile phones by drivers and also by pedestrians. “People using mobile phone and taking selfies while driving are increasingly posing a greater risk to themselves and others as well,“ road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said. According to the World Health Organisation, those using mobile phone while driving face four times higher risk of crash.
Delhi police special commissioner (traffic) Ajay Kashyap told TOI, “Texting or taking selfies while driving or walking on the road is a big traffic risk.People are addicted to them.There is under-reporting of such offences as it's difficult to specify the cause.“
A survey by SaveLife Foundation earlier this year had found that nine out of 10 drivers felt using mobile phones while driving was unsafe but 47% admitted to having received calls while behind the wheel.
The report also mentions how 3,396 people died in accidents caused due to faulty speed-breakers, another 2,324 lost lives due to pothole-related accidents while 3,878 people died in accidents near or on roads under construction.
“Ill-designed speed breakers have become a menace and more people are left injured for no fault of theirs. These are illegal.We will soon come out with a new design of speedbreakers,“ Gadkari said.
UP accounted for the most number of deaths in all three accounts. Maharashtra had the second highest number of potholerelated deaths (329) while Haryana had the second highest fatalities (214) due to faulty speed-breakers.
Overtaking
2014: 'Overtaking’ is the leading cause
The Times of India, Sep 05 2015
Overtaking led to max crashes in 2014
Dipak Dash
Better be alert every time you try to overtake or any other driver is speeding past your vehicle on the roads. Numbers show that maximum crashes and deaths on roads took place in 2014 when drivers were overtaking and the second highest cases of fatalities happened while “diverging“ or when jumping lanes. According to the latest report on country's road accidents and deaths, over 48,000 people died in crashes caused due to overtaking and `diverging' during 2014. “These accidents are also directly linked to speeding. There are two ways to address this concern. Either drivers must be sensitized or there has to be strict enforcement of traffic laws. Unfortunately, our drivers have no sense of how to change lanes, which is also main reason for such accidents,“ said an official of the transport research wing, which has prepared the report after compiling data from the local police from across the country .
The report also points to how most of the drivers with valid licenses have little training or knowledge of how to drive safely . It mentions how drivers with valid licenses were involved in crashes killing about 40,500 persons.
A recent analysis of people having driving licenses had revealed how 13% of such licenses are either fake or duplicate in India.
The report by National Informatics Centre (NIC) had found around 74 lakh licenses out of the total six crore may be duplicate ones, indicating the systemic flaws when doling out such licences.
Overtaking: 30,000 deaths in 2015
The Times of India, June 7, 2016
Dipak Dash
Rash overtaking led to 30,000 deaths in 2015
It is better to be alert when overtaking or letting any other vehicle overtake you on the road. Numbers show how dangerous and risky overtaking is on Indian roads. Last year, over 30,000 lives were lost in road crashes caused due to overtaking, says a road traffic accident report by the transport ministry . It also shows how diverging and merging resulted in nearly 32,000 fatalities on roads while stationary and other parked vehicles were involved in nearly 26,000 crashes that claimed 7,280 lives in 2015.
“Overtaking is a menace across all roads because neither the road users nor the enforcement agencies are aware of the right of way . The rules clearly say that you can't overtake at crossings, junctions, bend or wherever you can't see the traffic clearly,“ said road safety expert Rohit Baluja.
In fact, two-lane roads without dividers are more dangerous so far overtaking is concerned. What makes it worse is either no or little enforcement. “The danger is more on hilly areas and vehicles from outside these states violate the law. There is none to enforce.So, all these make the roads more unsafe,“ Baluja added.
Experts said poor traffic engineering is responsible for increasing cases of crashes and fatalities due to diverging and merging traffic. They said every road should be audited and the necessary changes must be made to make them safer. “We also have high number of deaths caused due to stationary vehicles on road. It simply points to how there is hardly any enforcement and patrolling to prevent such crashes. State police have no adequate force to patrol the highways and the highway managers don't wake up until a few lives are lost,“ said S P Singh of IFTRT, a think tank on transport issues.
Rash driving
Speed alone is not rashness
The Times of India, May 11 2016
Speeding alone no ground to book person for rash, negligent driving: HC
Shibu Thomas Driving a car at high speeds is by itself not a strong enough ground to book a person for rash and negligent driving, the Bombay high court has ruled. Two years after Mumbai police arrested a city resident, Khizzer Shah, on the charges of negligent and dangerous driving, a division bench of justices Abhay Oka and Prakash Naik used the HC's special powers to strike down the FIR as an “abuse of the process of law“.
“Except a bald statement that the accused was driving negligently , there is no evidence to substantiate the charge,“ said the bench.“The fact that a vehicle is driven at speed, or the fact that a vehicle is not driven at speed, cannot, by itself, without judging the situation in which the driver had been placed, be a factor to determine rashness or negligen ce. High speed may not, in each case, be sufficient to hold that the driver is rash or negligent,“ the bench added.
The HC criticised the police for the “casual“ manner in which they initiated criminal proceedings against Khizzer. “The police have mechanically exercised the power of registration of the FIR against Khizzer in the most casual and cavalier manner. The registration of FIR has caused undue harassment to him.“
The case dates back to the night of March 24, 2014, when Khizzer was driving a car near Shiva ji Park. The police, who were conducting a nakabandi, arrested Khizzer for the offences of rash and negligent driving (Section 279 of IPC) and dangerous driving (Section 184) under the Motor Vehicles Act.If convicted, both charges invite a prison term of up to six months or a fine or both.Khizzer approached the HC against the police action.
Advocate Farhana Shah, counsel for Khizzer, said neither the FIR, nor the chargesheet, filed by the police had any material to book him. The HC agreed and pointed out that two key questions had to be satisfied for invoking the charges -that the person was driving in a manner that may have caused danger to human life or was likely to cause injury to any other person.
2014: Rash driving and road rage
The Times of India, Aug 20 2015
Kochi, T'puram top rash driving & road rage cases
Dipak Dash
Two major cities in Kerala Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram -have reported maximum number of “rash driving road rage“ cases leaving 22,300 injured while Chennai and Delhi have registered third and fourth highest number of such cases. The compilation data based on cases registered by state police departments in the 53 major cities show that a total of 96,648 such cases were reported across the country and at least 99,822 people were left injured.This is almost one fifth of the total injury reported in 2014 involving road crash cases.
Among these cities, the rate of such rash driving and road rage cases per one lakh population is also highest with 634 recorded in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram recording 522 cases per lakh population.The national average was little over 60.
Sources said the main reasons behind high rate of rash driving and road rage cases in Kerala include high volume of vehicles and less road space with little expansion of highways happening in the recent years. They added these two are also the main commercial cities and Kochi has emerged as a cosmopolitan city .
Interestingly , even Indore in Madhya Pradesh recorded over 4,100 such incidences which left equal number of people injured in the crashes.
According to the NCRB report, at all India level a total of 4.09 lakh rash driving and road rage cases were reported and at least 4.79 lakh people were left injured. Kerala registered high number of these cases at 1.09 lakh, Lakshadweep reported only one such incident.
Vision, impaired
Drivers with imperfect vision: Delhi
Dipak Dash, 3 in 10 Delhi drivers can't see clearly what's ahead, Sep 12, 2017: The Times of India
The Times of India, Sep 12, 2017
CRRI Study Covered 627 Drivers, Found 42% Colour Blind
At least three in every 10 drivers in Delhi were found to have poor far sight acuity (how well one can see detail) while half of the drivers surveyed had poor near visual acuity , according to a study done by Delhi-based Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).
The study conducted covering 627 private cars, taxi, truck and bus drivers also found that 19% of them were severely colour blind while another 23% had mild colour blindness. About 29% of the drivers surveyed have also admitted to be behind the wheels for more than 10 hours a day , which is against the law. Visual acuity (sharpness) refers to how well a driver can see and a measure for the the eye's ability to see details at near and far distances.Colour blindness is the inability to perceive differences between some or all colours that other people can easily distinguish. Both have a higher adverse impact on driving during the night when visibility is redu ced substantially.
CRRI has done the study for Vision Impact Institute in which 72% of the drivers of commercial vehicle and the rest driving private vehicles underwent vision tests. Similar studies will be carried out in Mumbai and Bangalore.While driving, 90% information are taken from visual inputs about the road itself, other vehicles, pedestrians, signs and the passing scenery . The study has great significance considering the fact that the Motor Vehicle Act says that a self-declaration and medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner in case of a non-transport and transport vehicle respectively , is sufficient for issuance of learner's licence in India. “If not declared with truthfulness, this could pose serious safety hazards due to presence of drivers with certain physical abnormalities in traffic and which may hinder the driver from safe driving,“ the report said.
Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari has often talked about how applicants simply buy medical certificates from doctors to get a licence. He has even advised government officials and executives to get the vision of their drivers tested.
This study found that 6% of the drivers having marginal or unacceptable near visual acuity of both eyes were involved in accidents as against 3% of the drivers with acceptable grade in visual acuity . “Similarly for far both eye visual acuity , this study found that 8% of drivers with marginal or unacceptable range of acuity were involved in accidents as against 3% of the drivers with acceptable grade in visual acuity ,“ the report said. According to the study, 15% drivers who committed traffic violations admitted that they were involved in some accident or other as against 1% of those drivers who did not violate the traffic rules.
Drunk driving
Bar the drunk from driving: Bombay HC
The Times of India Jan 08 2016
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
The Bombay high court directed the Centre to consider adopting a “zero tolerance policy“ towards drunk driving and make appropriate changes in the law.
Observing that “too many lives had been lost“ to the “lethal cocktail“ of drinking and driving, a division bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Gautam Patel recommended action against those driving under the influence irrespective of the amount of alcohol in blood. At present, motorists with alcohol exceeding 30mg per 100ml of blood are liable to be charged under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
“We find nothing to suggest that some quantity of alcohol in the blood can be considered `safe',“ said the judges, adding that there was no fundamental right to drink. The HC also asked the state government to direct the police and transport authorities to immediately suspend driving licences of persons against whom DUI cases are registered. Driving licences are being suspended for three months for drunk driving since January 1 in the city.
Calling the permissible alcohol limits prescribed in the law as theoretical, the judges added: “There is, in fact, no reason why any person who has had any amount to drink should be permitted to drive at all. Given the alternatives available, and having regard to the manifest risks especially to third parties, we would strenuously urge the adoption by the Central government of a zero tolerance policy toward drunk driving.“
The high court said there was no fundamental right to drink, “let alone to drink any amount and then get behind the wheel of a motor car or on to a two-wheeler. Even the most minute impairment caused by alcohol intake might have the most disastrous consequences“.
Cases of drunk driving accidents decline
The continuous decline in accidents caused due to intake of alcohol/drugs in the past three years has come as a breather for the government. While in 2010 such violation caused 31,000 accidents, the number of such mishaps reduced to 23,979 last year. Even the fatalities have fallen from 9,976 in 2010 to 7,835 in 2012. Uttar Pradesh reported maximum fall in fatalities in this category from 4,635 in 2011 to 2,400 last year. TNN
2015: different figures from NCRB, transport ministry
According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 441 people were killed in road crashes due to drunken driving in 2015 in Uttar Pradesh, while data compiled by the transport research wing (TRW) of road transport ministry puts the fatalities for same reason during the year at three times more, at 1,404.
Such sharp differences in data, by two different agencies of the central government, on road deaths caused due to drunken driving lead to skepticism regarding sanctity of official figures. Both reports are based on the same source, which is FIRs lodged by police across states.
Officials TOI spoke to attribute such huge discrepancies to different channels through which the two agencies collect data. "While NCRB gets the data from state crime records bureaus (SCRB) and CID, TRW gets data from SCRB and state police headquarters," said an official.
In its bid to end such confusion, the road transport ministry is holding a workshop this week where representatives from state police will be briefed about a new and uniform format of supplying information to both the agencies. "We hope this will address the major problem," said the official.
The officials also admitted that there is no sanctity to the data and details that police feed to the system since there is no detailed investigation in cases of road crashes.
This is evident from the fact that as per TRW data not a single person died in Goa and NCRB said only one person was killed due to drunken driving in 2015.
Road safety expert Rohit Baluja said while states such as Goa, Punjab, Delhi and Chandigarh have high concentration of liquor shops and pubs, data shows very few crashes happened due to drunk driving. "On account of lack of scientific road crash investigation in India, the factual causes contributing to road crashes are not known and so we end up treating symptoms rather than the disease," Baluja said.
Baluja said strict and regular enforcement will lead to reduction of drunken driving, and scientific investigation in all serious crashes of injuries of both the drivers and victims would help identify the right solution.
Police officers said though prevalence of crashes due to drunken driving is high, official records never show them. "We don't have enough breath-analysers and most cases are never registered. If it's recorded that a victim has died in a drunken state then he does not get any insurance compensation. So, there are several factors behind why exact reasons are not mentioned in the FIR," said a senior police officer, who did not wish to be named.
2015> 2016: Drink driving deaths decline in Haryana, Bihar
Dipak Dash, Drink driving deaths down 60% in Bihar, Sep 9, 2017: The Times of India
UP 2016 Toll Up 100% Over 2015
Prohibition seems to have helped Bihar rein in deaths caused by drunk driving, with the number of such fatalities dropping 60% between 2015 and 2016. The liquor ban came into force in the state in 2016.
Meanwhile, the number of fatalities caused by drunk driving almost doubled in Uttar Pradesh in the same span -from 1,404 in 2015 to 2,716 in 2016 -according to the government's latest report on road accidents.
Bihar is one of three states that saw fewer deaths, injuries and accidents caused by drunk driving in 2016 than the year before, the others being Jharkhand and Haryana. However, West Bengal, Punjab, Puducherry and Odisha are among the states and Union territories where the number of deaths in drunk-driving-related accidents have gone up. Delhi registered a five-fold increase in such fatalities -while six persons died in drunk-driving-related cases in 2015, 30 were killed last year.
After TOI first reported on April 21 the lower drunk driving-related road fatalities in Bihar, the state government had cited the drop as one of the achievements of its complete ban on liquor.
At 541, Bihar reported the maximum decline in drunk-driving-related road deaths, in absolute figures, between 2015 and 2016, among the eight states and Union Territories where the number of deaths fell.By percentage, the decline was sharpest in Haryana.
Though 624 fewer road deaths across the country in 2016 on account of drunk driving is taken as a positive indicator, law enforcement authorities and traffic safety experts admit that official data shows a much lower number than is the reality.
“It's no more a secret in most of the cases that the dead person is hardly shown as being under the influence of alcohol even when it's so. This is because the dead are always treated as victims, and to ensure that their family members get compensation from insurance companies or from government,“ said a senior police official, who was the in-charge of traffic in a metro city.
Harman Singh Sidhu, who had filed a PIL for ban on liquor vends along national highways, said, “Bihar's alcohol ban really had an impact. Even the sharp decline in deaths in Haryana... could be because the liquor shops along NHs in the state were almost closed during 2016.“
According to WHO reports, drinking and driving is one of the main causes of road crashes. While in highincome countries, about 20% of fatally injured drivers have excess alcohol in their blood, in some low and middle-income countries the figure may be up to 69%.
The extent and nature of the problem
Accidents, road: all India
1 death every 4.5 min in road accidents ‘In 2008, Country Witnessed 4.85L Road Accidents In Which 1.2L People Died’ Dipak Kumar Dash | TNN
New Delhi: Indian roads witness one road mishap every minute and one death in accidents every four and a half minutes, according to the latest report of the road, transport and highways ministry.
The report, which was released this week by the transport research wing of the ministry, said that in 2008, the country witnessed 4.85 lakh road accidents in which 1.2 lakh people lost their lives. And more than half of the road accident victims are in the age group of 25 and 65 years, the ‘key wage earning and child raising age group’.
Similarly, the report estimates that these road accidents left 5.2 lakh people injured.
The annual road accident document also points to high fatalities — almost 65% of the all road deaths — on national and state highways in comparison to other roads. In 2008, while 42,670 persons died on NHs, the state highways claimed 34,081 lives. ‘‘The deaths are on rise despite the ministry spending more on road safety in the last six years. We are not analyzing the actual reasons behind road accidents. Had technical people with road safety expertise been in-charge of the affairs, the situation would not have slipped to this alarming level,’’ said a senior ministry official.
While in 2004-05, the ministry spent Rs 35 crore out of the allocated fund of Rs 39.7 crores, in 2008-09 it shot to Rs 54.8 crore. The report singles out fault of the drivers as the major reason of road deaths. This claimed 89,360 persons in 2008. Fault of cyclists, pedestrians, motor vehicles and bad road and weather conditions were also identified as some of the factors for fatalities on roads across the country.
However, ministry sources said that in the absence of proper investigation of road mishaps, local police put the onus of these accidents on the drivers. ‘‘The report is silent on how the governments’ failure to regulate the issuance of driving licences and lack of proper training of drivers are contributing to this high occurrence of road mishaps,’’ officials said on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, the ministry has set an ambitious target to bring down road deaths by 50% in the next two years. For this purpose, the budget estimate for 2010-11 has been increased to Rs 180 crore from Rs 74 crores in the previous year. RISKY ROADS Total road deaths in 2008: 1,06,591 persons Share of national highways: 42,670 persons Share of state highways: 34,081 persons People who died due to drivers’ fault: 89,360
The cost of road accidents to the nation
The Times of India, Dec 01 2015
Dipak Dash
Road crashes costing India Rs 55,000cr a yr
The cost of over nearly 4.9 lakh road traffic crashes annually in India is close to Rs 55,000 crore, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday , while launching a joint road safety campaign by the government and a major car maker along with Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. The actor called for an intense campaign like that of anti-polio or the family planning drive to reduce road crashes and fatalities. Officials said the actual cost of road traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries could be much more since no fresh study has been conducted to estimate the loss; particularly considering the fact that over 50% of dead are in the age bracket of 15 and 39. In 2014, about 1.4 lakh died in road crashes and another 4.9 lakh people were left injured.
Good Samaritans
Good Samaritan SOPs
The Times of India, Jan 27 2016
Centre finally notifies good Samaritan SOPs for cops
The government has notified a standard operating procedure (SOP) on how to `respectfully' deal with good Samaritans and bystanders who rush road crash victims to hospitals or inform police. The SOP says no such person must be asked to reveal personal details, including full name, address and phone number unless he she volunteers to become an eyewitness. “In case a good Samaritan chooses to be a witness, his examination by the investigating officer shall, as far as possible, be conducted at a time and place of his conveni ence such as his place of residence r business, and the investigation officer shall be dressed in plain clothes, unless the good Samaritan chooses to visit the police station,“ says the SOP notified by the road transport ministry . On January 10, TOI was the first to report that the ministry had decided to notify the norms within a fortnight following the Supreme Court direction to the Centre to submit the steps taken to protect the good Samaritans.
The SOP also specifies that in case a good Samaritan choses to visit the police station, he shall be examined in a single sitting in a “reasonable and time-bound manner“.Even it will be the responsibility of the investigating officer to arrange for an interpreter to interact with the person, if he speaks a language the IO doesn't understand.
SOPs after Supreme Court’s 2016 order
Dipak Dash, Samaritan witness can be quizzed only once, Oct 06 2016 : The Times of India
Police can call a good Samaritan for examination only once if he opts to be a witness in a road accident. In a recent notification, the road transport ministry has said in case a statement is to be recorded, it should be done in a single examination.
Complying with the direction of the Supreme Court order of March, the ministry has added the new provision in the standard operating procedures (SOP) for dealing with those who either inform police about road crashes or rush the injured to hospital. “The affidavit of good Samaritan, if filed, shall be treated as complete statement by police while conducting the investigation,“ the notification said. On an average, 400 people lost their lives in road crashes every day in 2015. According to the government's own estimates, half of these deaths can be prevented by providing quick medical care within the first hour of a crash. A study by Save Life Foundation had flagged how nearly threefourth of bystanders are unlikely to help road crash victims and almost nine of 10 would cite fear of legal hassles and repeated questioning by police. A ministry official said this provision will help end the fear of bystanders.
Driving licences issued without a test
54% Motorists In Delhi Skipped Mandatory Step
Six out of every 10 people with a driving licence in India never actually sat behind a wheel to get it, according to a sample survey done across 10 cities, including the five metros, which have the highest vehicle population. Just 12% of drivers in Agra got their licences the honest way , with 88% of the respondents admitting they did not give a driving test. The same goes for 72% drivers in Jaipur and 64% in Guwahati. About 54% in Delhi and half of the re spondents in Mumbai too gave this mandatory test a miss.
The survey, conducted by road safety advocacy group SaveLIFE Foundation, comes at a time when the Rajya Sabha is set to discuss amend ments to the Motor Vehicles Act, which have been passed by the Lok Sabha.
The amendments provide for an IT-based driving test of applicants and a heavy fine for the possession of fake or more than one licence.
“It was appalling to note that 59% respondents admittedly did not give a test to get a driving licence... The licencing system in India is corrupt and inefficient, while the mandatory driver training system is non-existent,“ says the report.
“There are 997 regional transport offices (RTOs) in the country issuing over 1.15 crore fresh or renewed driving licences every year. A rough calculation shows that, on an average, 40 licences are issued by each RTO on any working day and it can be as high as 130 licences per day in case of Delhi,“ the survey says, clearly hinting at the hold that touts still have over the system. A Supreme Court-appointed panel in 2014 had urged the apex court to come out with a direction that every designated officer issue not more than 15-20 driving licences a day since it's humanly impossible to test the skill of 130-150 drivers daily.
It's not just the common citizen, even members of the Lok Sabha could be in the list of offenders. This was indicated when road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, while initiating the debate on the bill in April, asked how many MPs had appeared for a driving licence test, and barely a few hands went up.
The survey mentioned that in the absence of a mandatory driver training system, many in India drive without possessing the knowledge of certain key aspects of safe driv ing, like blind spots, safe distance, including the three-second rule, and thereby fundamentally putting lives at risk.
The report said 80% of all road users feel unsafe and 82% of pedestrians feel the same while crossing a road or walking. In Kochi, 90% of respondents said they felt unsafe on the road.Nearly half of the respondents admitted to having witnessed a fatal road crash. “Similarly , 31% respondents had a family member who was seriously injured in a road crash and 16% had a family member who was killed in a road crash,“ the survey found. It is noteworthy that 91% respondents felt that a strong road safety law would help in reducing road crashes in India and 81% also stated that stricter penalties for traffic offences will help improve road safety .
“It is clear from the study that citizens are deeply concerned about their safety on the road.An overwhelming majority of them feel that a strong road safety law will help in improving the situation,“ Piyush Tewari, founder and CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation said.
Legal aspects, court/ MACT decisions
Fatal Accidents Act, 1855
Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN
The Times of India, July 9, 2011
SC: Mughal-era legislation still governs road accident relief
Apart from the penal laws punishing drunk drivers running over people, the offender can be sued by the victim’s relatives for compensation under a law that was enacted when the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was the titular head of the throne at Delhi.
Taking note of this, the Supreme Court has asked the Centre to immediately commence work to draft a new law to replace the archaic legislation. It expressed serious concerns over the extreme inadequacies in the law governing suits for damage filed by relatives to claim compensation for death due to rash and negligent act, including drunken driving cases. It rapped the government for not taking note of a 20-year-old apex court judgment recommending drastic change in the 1855 law or a new legislation to meet the present-day challenges.
A bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodha said, “We are constrained to observe that a suit for damages for a murder of a person, like the present one, is filed under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855. As the year of enactment shows, the Act dates back to the period when the greater part of the country was under the control of East India Company with the last Mughal ‘Emperor’, Bahadur Shah Zafar, as the ineffective, though titular monarch on the throne at Delhi.”
The Act was enacted to provide compensation to families for loss occasioned by the death of a person caused by actionable wrong. “It is a matter of grave concern that such sensitive matters like payment of compensation and damages for death resulting from a wrongful or negligent act are governed by a law which is more than one and a half centuries old,” said Justice Alam, who wrote the judgment for the bench.
With anguish it remembered that a constitution bench of the Supreme Court in a 1990 judgment had said: “The Fatal Accidents Act, on account of its limited and restrictive application, is hardly suited to meet such challenge. We are, therefore, of the opinion that the old antiquated Act should be drastically amended or fresh legislation should be enacted which should contain appropriate provisions for various exigencies.” Justice Alam said: “It is unfortunate that the observations of the SC have so far gone completely unheeded.”
Sec 304A IPC: out of-court settlement cannot quash offence
Causing death due to rash and negligent driving is an offence against society and the offence cannot be quashed because of an outof-court settlement between the accused and the deceased victim's family , the Bombay high court has ruled.
The court was hearing a petition by Mahim resident Krishna Raju, who was booked for driving his motorcycle rashly and negligently , and knocking down Sinclair Valadares (70), who was crossing the street in 2015.
Valadares's two sons had filed affidavits saying they had no objection to quashing of the case against Raju.They said the accident was not due to rash driving by Ra ju, but their father had glanced back on seeing a heavy vehicle near the Mahim Causeway and dashed against the motorcycle.
The court refused to quash the chargesheet on the basis of the settlement between Raju and the Valadares family . “The offence under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code presents a situation where a victim has lost his life due to the rash and negligent act of the accused. The offence under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code is not an offence which is private, but is an offence which has serious impact on society as a whole.Hence, such an offence cannot be quashed as legal representatives of the deceased have entered into a settlement or compromise, or that they have given no objection for quashing,“ said a division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai. “Quashing such a chargesheet for offence under Section 304A on the ground of compromise or settlement will militate against all cannons of law,“ the judges added.
Raju, however, obtained relief when the court went into the merits of the case.The accident had occurred on Gen Arunkumar Vaidya Road near Mahim Causeway at 2pm on March 25, 2015. The sole witness, a shopkeeper, had told police that the pedestrian reached near the divider but turned back on seeing a heavy vehicle coming from the opposite lane. He then lost his balance and dashed against the motorcycle.
“The material in the chargesheet, taken at its face value, does not indicate that Raju had driven the motorcycle in a rash or negligent matter, or that the death of the pedestrian was caused due to the accused's rash and negligent act,“ the court said while quashing the first information report and dropping all charges against Raju.
Compensation a right of mishap victims: HC
Shibu Thomas, TNN | Aug 29, 2013
MUMBAI: Victims of road accidents and their next of kin have a right under law to claim compensation, the Bombay high court has ruled. Twenty-three years after a Yavatmal-based bank officer lost his life in a road accident involving an MSRTC bus, Justice A P Bhangale ordered the state transport undertaking to pay Rs 6.51 lakh, along with interest, to his wife and three children.
The judge threw out the MSRTC's contention that the deceased bank officer, Mukundrao Dongre (38), could not be categorized as a third party eligible for compensation under the third-party risk insurance rule.
"I find it difficult to accept the submission that the victim was a person 'other than third party'," said the judge. "The Motor Vehicle Act provides for mandatory third-party insurance, which is compulsory for any motor vehicle owner. The objective of the act is to ensure that the third party receives just and fair compensation from the owner of the offending motor vehicle and receives compensation."
The court said the law protects victims of road accidents. "The right of the victim of a road accident to claim compensation is statutory. The legislature in its wisdom enacted the (law) to protect the victims of road accidents, who may be travelling in the vehicle or using the road, and thereby made it obligatory that no motor vehicle shall be used unless the vehicle is compulsorily insured against third-party risk."
The court said the MSRTC could not escape paying compensation by claiming that the other vehicle was responsible for the accident. "If liability is denied, it is for the MSRTC to plead and prove rashness and negligence on the part of the driver of the jeep if according to it the jeep was the offending motor vehicle... Mere allegation is not enough."
Mere absence of or fake or invalid driving license or disqualification of the driver for driving at the relevant time are not in themselves defences available to the MSRTC against the third parties."
Financial aid to victim
Mar 03 2015
Amit Choudhary
Increases compensation in HP case
SC: States must aid accident victim's kin if accused is poor
If death is caused by rash and negligent driving and the driver is unable to pay adequate compensation to the victim's family because of his poor financial status, the state government must step in and pay the amount, the Supreme Court has ruled. “We are of the view that where the accused is unable to pay adequate compensation, the court ought to have awarded compensation under Section 357A from the funds available under the Victim Compensation Scheme framed under the said section,“ a bench of Justices T S Thakur and A K Goel said.
It increased the amount of compensation awarded by the Himachal Pradesh high court to family members of a girl who died in a road accident from Rs 40,000 to Rs 4 lakh. Considering the poor financial condition of the convicted truck driver, the bench directed him to pay Rs 1 lakh and asked the state government to pay the remaining Rs 3 lakh.
The bench said if the driver failed to pay the amount, he had to undergo a six months' jail term and in that case the entire compensation of Rs 4 lakh would have to be paid by the state government.
“We modify the impugned order passed by the high court and enhance the compensation to be paid by the driver to Rs1 lakh to be paid within four months failing which the sentence awarded by the court of sessions shall stand revived,“ it said.
“In addition, we direct the state of Himachal Pradesh to pay an interim compensation of Rs 3 lakh. In case the driver fails to pay any part of the compensation, that part of compensation will also be paid by the state so that the heirs of the victim get total sum of Rs 4 lakh towards compensation. The amount already paid may be adjusted,“ the bench said.
Death of foetus in mishap
Rs 2.5L relief for unborn child’s death in mishap
HC Compares Dead Foetus With Minor Child
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
From the archives of The Times of India 2007, 2009
2010
New Delhi: In an important ruling, the Delhi High Court has held that an unborn dead foetus can be considered on par with a minor child while fixing compensation. It directed an insurance company to pay extra compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh to a man who lost his pregnant wife in a road accident in 2008.
HC allowed an appeal filed by one Prakash seeking compensation for his unborn child as his plea was ignored by the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT). The court, however, made it clear that the dead foetus cannot be compared with a grown-up child, because by then a child’s presence in the life of his or her parents has created enough memories for them to feel greater pain at the loss of their child. This pain will be lesser were an unborn child to die as in that case there will be no memories to cherish.
‘‘This court holds that an unborn child — aged five months onwards in mother’s womb till its birth — is treated as equal to a child... the foetus is another life in a woman and loss of foetus is actually loss of child in the offing,’’ HC reasoned, while allowing the appeal and the compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh along with an interest rate of 7.5 per annum to Prakash.
While the MACT had already awarded Rs 6.11 lakh to the petitioner for the accident in which his wife died with sevenmonth-old foetus in her womb, the tribunal had not taken into account the death of foetus as a factor.
HC directed the insurance company to deposit Rs 2 lakh with the UCO bank as fixed deposit within a month and release rest of the amount to the victim’s family.
On his part, the petitioner argued that the MACT Tribunal had ignored the plea on a ground that post-mortem report has not mentioned anything about the presence of foetus. The counsel argued the road accident took place on June 8, 2008 and the foetus was removed from the woman’s womb on June 17 and the mother died on August 14.
Clarifying that the foetus was absent at the time of the victim’s death, the lawyer submitted the statements of doctors from Shushruta Trauma Centre and LNJP who treated the woman soon after the accident and removed the foetus after the unborn baby died in the womb due to the accident.
toireporter@timesgroup.com
Pay victim for lost marriage prospects: MACT
A 28-year-old city woman injured in a 2011 road mishap has been granted Rs 60.56 lakh as compensation by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT). In what is a rare instance, the MACT has included in the payout Rs 2 lakh for “loss of future marriage prospects“.
“It is clear that due to the injuries she has missed out on marriage prospects. Hence, an amount of Rs 2 lakh is awarded towards loss of marriage prospects,“ the tribunal said on Saturday . The woman, who was a grade A student doing her firstyear BCom, was knocked down by a speeding car on November 1, 2011, in front of her grandfather and sister, resulting in brain and pelvic injuries that needed hospitalisation for over a month. The injuries have now limited the woman's physical and mental capacities.
The woman filed an application before the tribunal in December 2011 against the alleged car owner, Less Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, and the insurer, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co Ltd. The victim said while she was crossing the Sion-Trombay Road near Somaiya ground at around 8am on November 1, 2011, a car came from Chembur towards Sion in a “rash manner“ and hit her from behind, resulting in her serious injuries. After being treated at Sion Hospital, she was shifted to a hospital in her hometown Meerut, where she was admitted from December 9, 2011, till January 9, 2012. Her treatment continued at a specialised neurology hospital until October 2012.
The woman told the tribunal that due to the injuries, she was under severe pain and unable to do her daily work with the same stamina and power as prior to the accident.She also complained that she was unable to attend college.The doctor, who deposed on the nature of the injuries, explained that it was a “generalized injury to the brain, affecting motor function, thought function, memory and speech functions, leading to hampering of normal day-to-day activities“.
Only 25% of blame on drunk driver who dies in mishap
A motor accident claims tribunal recently held that if you are drunk and die in an accident, your contributory negligence in the accident amounts to just 25%; the rest of the blame lies with the other party .
The tribunal's reasoning came while deciding the 2008 case of a 33-year-old drunk biker who was killed after a BMC dumper truck rammed into his two-wheeler. At the time of the fatal accident, the biker was riding with two others on Holi.
The civic body has now been ordered to pay a total compensation of Rs 38.1 lakh to the biker's kin. The tribunal held that driver of the heavy vehicle was “more responsible for causing the accident“.
Referring to the FIR, the tribunal said, “The deceased was under the influence of alcohol when he was riding the motorcycle but, at the same time, the driver of the dumper was duty-bound to control his vehicle.“
While calculating the compensation, the tribunal kept in mind the victim's an nual income of Rs 1.4 lakh and loss of future earnings.
It stated that compensation payable to the family was Rs 24.75 lakh. However, while deducting 25% towards the victim's contributory negligence, the tribunal brought down the figure to Rs 18.6 lakh. Additionally, the compensation amount also includes Rs 1 lakh towards loss of companionship of a spouse, Rs 1 lakh towards the loss of love and affection suffered by the mother and son and Rs 50,000 for loss of estate and towards funeral expenses incurred. The total amount of Rs 21 lakh also attracts an annual simple interest, bringing the total amount to Rs 38.1 lakh.
The application for compensation was filed in June 2008 by six members of the victim, Pravin Mane's family, including his wife, minor son, mother and siblings.
The victim ran a garment business at the time of his death. The family told the tribunal that the accident took place on March 22, 2008, around 2.15pm. They claimed that while Mane was riding the bike with due care and caution at a moderate speed, the truck rammed into it at full speed in a rash and negligent manner. Mane sustained multiple injuries and died on the way to the hospital.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) denied that the driver, on his way from the Deonar dumping ground to collect garbage from Vikhroli, was rash and negligent.
BMC alleged that the driver had given a signal before taking a left turn. It alleged that at that time, Mane's bike came at high speed from the opposite direction and collided with the front and middle portion of the truck. “All the three riders seated on the motorcycle were under the influence of alcohol and so the accident occurred solely due to the negligence of the deceased as he could not control his motor cycle,“ the BMC submitted.
Motor Vehicles (Amendment) 2017
The Lok Sabha passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to reduce crashes, deaths and injuries on roads and bring reforms in the road transport sector. The proposed legislation, which will now go to the Rajya Sabha for approval, has provisions of making stringent penalties for traffic violations, checking fake driving licences and introducing measures to protect good Samaritans.
The bill also has provisions of making vehicle-makers responsible for design defects, recall of faulty vehicles and also holding roadowning and maintenance agencies or contractors accountable for road deaths and injuries on account of flaws on their part. Such agencies will have to cough up fines up to Rs 1lakh.
While most of the provisions were largely welcomed by members, there were reservations about government indirectly putting a cap on insurance compensation where victims or their kin agree to Rs 5 lakh for death and Rs 2.5 lakh for grievous injuries. In these cases, they can't pursue the case in the Motor Vehicles Claims Tribunal (MACT). This has co me under criticism from various quarters, though the government claims that in more than 70% of cases the average compensation awarded by the tribunal is less than Rs 5 lakh.
Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said those who don't accept the compensation offered by insurance companies will be free to pursue the case in MACT and in those cases the insurance companies will pay the entire amount awarded.
The bill was passed by a voice vote after several amendments, moved by opposition members, were rejected. Though CPM member Sankar Prasad Datta pressed for division of votes after moving his amendment on enhancing compensation in accident cases, his amendment was defea ted by 37 votes in favour and 221 against.
Gadkari said it would not be possible to increase the third-party compensation in case of death to Rs 20 lakh as it would entail substantial hike in insurance premiums.
“Once we (BJP) complete five years, we would be able to save 50% of lives lost due to road accidents. We are working towards it,“ road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said while insisting during his reply in the lower House that the basic aim of the bill is “to save human lives“.Annually , at least 5 lakh road crashes take place claiming around 1.5 lakh lives.
Organisations that have been campaigning for a stronger law have welcomed the passage of the Bill.
Driver should not lose control even if other driver not driving properly
In no situation should a driver lose control over vehicle: Court
A driver is not expected to lose control over his vehicle even if another driver is not driving properly , a tribunal court has said while awarding Rs 19.60-lakh compensation to the widow, minor children and parents of a vegetable seller who died in a road accident. The victim, Jugendra, was accused of driving his rickshaw-cart on the wrong side. The tribunal also pointed out that Jugendra's rickshaw-cart was on the extreme right side of the road, whereas the car which hit it had considerable road width available for driving his vehicle.
Jugendra, 28, died of head injuries on October 28, 2016 when a car rammed him. The erring driver, however, contended that the deceased was driving his cart on the wrong side of the road and it was the victim who hit the car.The insurance company with which the car was insured asserted that the accident took place due to the vegetable seller's negligence.
“Even if it is accepted, for the sake of arguments, that the deceased was moving with his rickshaw-cart on the wrong direction of the road, it cannot be brushed aside that rickshaw-cart is a slow moving vehicle...,“ said the motor accident claims tribunal (MACT) presiding officer Sanjay Sharma.
‘A housewife/ homemaker is a skilled worker’
`Housewife a skilled worker': The Times of India, May 01 2017
A housewife renders services of a skilled worker, a Delhi court has observed.
The observation was made by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal while awarding the compensation of Rs 30.63 lakh to a 32-year-old homemaker who lost one of her legs in a road accident four years ago.
The woman, who was crossing a road with her six-month old son in 2013, got hit by a rashly-driven RTV and suffered 80% disability while the child suffered head injury .
“A housewife renders services as a skilled workman... Since the disability suffered by the claimant is 80% with regard to right lower limb, loss qua the entire body will be 40%...“ presiding officer of the tribunal Arun Bhardwaj said.
Contribution of homemakers recognised
Aamir Khan, Tribunal hails homemaker, awards Rs 19L to kin, June 21, 2017: The Times of India
“A wife or a mother does not work by the clock,“ a court observed while recognising the contribution of a homemaker, who died in an accident five years ago. The court awarded Rs 19 lakh as compensation towards “loss of love and affec tion“ for the victim's kin.
Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) presiding officer Kiran Bansal said, “In India, courts have recognised the contribution made by the wife to the house is invaluable and cannot be computed in terms of money .“ It noted that the “gratuitous services“ rendered by the wife, with true lo ve and affection, to her children and husband while managing the household affairs could not be equated with services rendered by others.
The tribunal made the observations while hearing claim petitions filed by the family members of 38-year-old Shakuntala, who died in a car-truck collision on August 13, 2012. Her daughter, Renu, who was 17 then, sustained injuries and remained in hospital for nine days. The mother and daughter were on their way to Aligarh from Delhi and were travelling by car when a truck, rushing at breakneck speed, hit their car. Truck driver Ramesh Chand denied any invol vement in the accident, saying he was falsely implicated in the case.
The UP State Road Transport Corporation, under which the bus plied on a contractual basis, accused the car diver of being negligent and argued that truck was parked when the car, being rashly driven, hit it. The tribunal, however, relied on the statement of the victim's husband Suresh Chand, who had given details of the accident and furnished relevant documents.
The victim's daughter, Renu, had filed a separate petition, citing loss of time hampering her education that also jeopardised her future prospects.
It praised the women who took care of their family throughout day and night. Therefore, after considering the victim's age and the loss of love and affection to her four children and husband, the tribunal awarded them Rs 18 lakh as compensation. He daughter, on the other hand, was granted Rs 1.71 lakh, among other entitlements, for pain and suffering. “She is entitled to the loss of study for a period of three months,“ the tribunal said.
The direction for the re spective compensations was given to the insurance company with which the truck was insured.
Region-wise
2004-2013: road accidents, state-wise figures
See graphic
Regions: India's highest road fatalities 2008 to 2013 were in Delhi
Delhi sees most road deaths in India
New Delhi
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
The Times of India Jun 24 2014
About 40 busloads of citizens die on the capital’s roads every year. From 2008 to 2013, more than 12,300 people died in road accidents here. Last year alone, there were a total of 1,820 deaths.
An assessment of road accidents done by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) reveals that not only does Delhi have the most dangerous roads in the country but pedestrians and bikers are at the greatest risk on them. On average, five people die in road accidents every day, and four of them are either pedestrians or twowheeler riders.
The traffic police have identified 128 accident hotspots — places where three or more fatal accidents, or 10 accidents have occurred in a year -and the CSE assessment shows that northwest and southwest Delhi have the most such spots. Taken design-wise, signal-free arterial roads are the most dangerous.
Ironically, roads that have received the maximum government attention and resources for widening and signal-free movement have the highest accident rates.
“These features have, in fact, turned arterial roads into death traps. Especially dangerous are spots where flyovers begin, such as Dhaula Kuan, AIIMS, Sarita Vihar, Mahipalpur, Rajokri, ITO or IP, and Moti Bagh,” says the report released on Monday.
Eight key arterial roads, designed to be high-speed corridors, record nearly 75% of all deaths in Delhi alone.
For nearly a decade now, road infrastructure in Delhi has received a lot of attention but despite having the best roads in the country, the city leads in terms of traffic fatalities. Mumbai records far more accidents—25,000 in 2012—but the number of deaths is around 500. Even Chennai, with 9,000 accidents annually has 1,350 fatalities. However, Delhi has the highest percentage of fatal accidents. Last year, 1,820 persons died in 7,566 accidents.
Traffic experts say violation of rules is rampant in Delhi, and speeding is a common offence due to the better road conditions. This year, more than 3 lakh motorists have been challaned for jumping signals and 45,158 for speeding.
Also, more than 14,000 cases of drunken driving have been detected.
Anil Shukla, additional commissioner of police (traffic), said policies on road safety are framed in fits and starts. “Our roads should be so designed that they are forgiving of the mistakes drivers make,” he said. At the same time, existing laws are not strong enough to deter traffic violations. For instance, the fine for many serious offences is a meagre Rs 100.
Shukla gave the example of a traffic junction, where 1.3 lakh violations were detected in a month, and a man who was challaned 144 times in three months but did not correct his ways. “About 15% are court challans. Most wait for Lok Adalat hearings where cases are settled by paying a fine of Rs 10 or Rs 20. For a person who can afford a Rs 45-lakh car, does a fine of Rs 100 matter?” Half of the road casualties (dead and injured) in Delhi are pedestrians (44%) and cyclists (6%), while nationally, the numbers are 9% and 5%, respectively. Till May this year, 325 people had died in accidents at night and 332 during daytime. An IIT Delhi study of AIIMS Flyover showed that after the cloverleaf was opened, speeds increased by 21.5%, 22.6%, 15% and 31.6% for heavy vehicles, cars, three wheelers and two wheelers, respectively.
Yet, nearly 22% of pedestrians continued to cross the road at ‘grade’ level although a pedestrian underpass is provided.
Regions in 2010-12
Roads in Punjab most fatal in India
Dipak Kumar Dash | TNN
The Times of India 2013/08/16
New Delhi: Chances of getting killed in a road accident is the highest in Amritsar and in the country’s Mercedes capital Ludhiana.
Latest data on road fatalities shows that at least six people died in every 10 road crashes in these two cities in 2012 against only three in Delhi, which recorded maximum fatalities in 2012. Though Mumbai recorded the highest number of accidents among 50 million-plus cities, the fatality rate was only 2%.
The ‘Road Accidents in India’ report prepared by the transport research wing of the road ministry also shows that roads in Punjab are proving to be fatal for commuters. The severity of accident – deaths per 100 mishaps – in the state has been increasing in the past four years. While it was 65.9% in 2009, this increased to 76% in 2012.
“Ludhiana and Amritsar are the worst examples. But the state as a whole is also losing over 4,800 lives in road accidents. We have heterogeneous traffic, little enforcement of noentry timings and huge problem of drink driving,” said Dr Kamalzit Singh Soi, vice-chairman of Punjab Road Safety Council.
The industrial city of Ludhiana has around 1.4 million vehicles for its 3.5 million people, of whom 20-30% are migrant labourers. Soi said traffic coming from six districts passed through the city and almost 23 km of the under-expansion Panipat-Jalandhar highway runs through the urban area.
“On top of this, annually around 35 crore bottles of liquor are sold in the state that has a population of only 2.7 crore. Out of this, around 1.49 crore are women. So, we can make out how many times and how many people drive in a drunken state,” he said.
Regions: 2012
Delhi is the road death capital too
Dipak Kumar Dash TNN 2013/06/25
New Delhi: New Delhi besides being the capital of the country holds the dubious distinction of being the road death capital. In the year 2012, the city recorded 1,527 deaths in accidents.
Latest data on accidental deaths released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that India’s overall record deteriorated further, with the toll crossing 1.39 lakh during 2012 in comparison to little over 1.36 lakh in the previous year. Chennai seems to be moving closer to the national capital registering 1,401 road fatalities in 2012.
“While Delhi has witnessed high growth of vehicles resulting in slowing down of traffic, the situation is different in Chennai. Roads have become better and the speed of vehicles has increased,” said a road transport ministry official.
The data shows that at all India level, Tamil Nadu has overtaken Uttar Pradesh registering 16,175 deaths during 2012. UP reported 15,109 deaths while Andhra recorded 15,000 fatalities and Maharashtra ranked four among the states with 13,936 deaths
Dipak Kumar Dash
2013-16/ Uttarakhand
The Times of India, May 27 2016
Kautilya Singh
Uttarakhand's deadly roads are gobbling up lives by the hundreds and no one seems to have a solution in mind. This year from January 1 till April 30, there have been 313 deaths, and counting. In 2015, there were around 913 accident fatalities. In 2014, the number was 878. The figure was 765 in 2013. If the deadly incidents till May in 2016 are any indication, the toll may reach well over 1,000 by the time 2016 ends.
These accidents not question the safety of the state's roads during the peak tourist season but also highlight the apathy of concerned officials and departments in not doing enough to tackle the problem.
Incidentally , most offici als concur on the reasons behind the accidents. “Absence of parapets-crash barriers, over-crowding, untrained manoeuvring at sharp turns, drunken driving, tiredness of drivers, poor maintenance of vehicles and driving while playing loud music are the major factors,“ said Ram Singh Meena, additional director general of police (administration). He added that the best way to bring down these accidents was to look for “pragmatic solutions.“
As to what these solutions can be, nobody has any clear answers although the rising road fatalities (the number of deaths have increased from 698 in 2001 to 913 in 2015) have certainly set alarm bells ringing.
2015, ’16Yamuna Expressway
Aditya Dev, Accidents on Yamuna e-way up 30% in one year, Feb 25, 2017: The Times of India
The reply to a recent RTI query has revealed that 2016 saw a 30% rise in the number of accidents on the Yamuna Expressway as compared to 2015. However, fatalities have gone down by 9% between the two years.
In 2016, 1,193 accidents killed 128 people, while 919 accidents in 2015 resulted in the death of 142 people.
During the four and a half years since its opening, the expressway has seen 548 deaths in 4,076 accidents, with 2016 recording the highest number of accidents for one year.
In 2014, 127 people died in 772 accidents, while it was 118 deaths in 898 accidents in 2013. Between August 9, 2012, when the e-way became operational, and December 31 2012, as many as 33 people died in 294 accidents.
K C Jain, secretary of NGO Agra Development Foundation (ADF), who filed the RTI query , said, “Built at a cost of Rs 13,000 crore, there is no slowdown in numbers of accidents and deaths on the e-way . It is a serious cause of concern and the government should take corrective measures.“
“In 2015, the ADF had filed a public interest litigation in the Allahabad high court over the rising number of accidents on the 165km e-way . Consequently, the court directed the organisation to give its suggestions to the state's high-level committee on road safety on measures to reduce accidents. We suggested several measures, but no strong measures were taken,“ added Jain
2016/ Rate of accidents: Chennai, Jaipur, Indore, Delhi
The Times of India, Apr 3, 2016
Chennai 2nd in world in rate of road crash deaths
Dipak K Dash
Chennai, Jaipur, Indore and Delhi are among 47 cities across the world to register the highest rate of road fatalities. The latest 'Global Report on Urban Health' released by the UN-Habitat and WHO says the number of persons killed per lakh population in Chennai was the second highest across the major selected cities, at 26.6, next to Fortaleza, the capital of the Brazilian state of Ceara. Jaipur ranked fourth, Indore 16th while Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore occupied 23rd, 24th and 25th positions respectively. Mumbai was in 40th position.
However, the report says progress on road traffic safety is achievable with interventions to reduce speed in urban areas and convenient public transportation.
"Today's Chennai could be tomorrow's Stockholm," it says. The Swedish capital reported only 0.7 death per one lakh population. Sweden has set the ambitious target of zero fatality.
Highlighting how cities, which are the hub of economic activities, need to step up to reduce traffic crashes and deaths, the report mentions that currently 26% of road traffic deaths occur among cyclists and pedestrians and in some cities it is as high as 75%. "In a study of road traffic accidents in Indian cities, the research found that pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for at least 44% of road traffic fatalities, but ranged as high as 60% in Mumbai," it said.
The report also mentions how road traffic injuries have emerged as the eighth leading cause of death in the world and they are also the number one killer of people in the age group of 15-29 years. The last road accident report of India in 2014 showed how about 75,000 deaths, which is 54% of the total fatalities on Indian roads, were in the age group of 15 and 35 years.
It projects total number of motorised vehicles to cross 1.6 billion in the next 20 years. "Most of the increase will be in Asian countries, especially China and India. Within countries, as incomes rise, cities tend to sprawl more, while rising incomes for people are associated with increased vehicle travel," the report said.
The number of vehicles across the globe was only 63 million in 2012.
Uttar Pradesh
2016: 53 killed every day
Dipak Dash, `53 killed daily on UP roads in 2016', Apr 17 2017, The Times of India
Roads in Uttar Pradesh claimed around 53 lives every day in 2016, accounting for 19,320 deaths in the year, the highest among all states since the central government started compiling details of road crashes at the national level.
Admitting that rising road deaths was a major concern for the state police, UP's additional DGP (traffic) Anil Kumar Agarwal told TOI that road accidents killed more people in the state every year than all crimes put together.
According to official data, the number of people killed on UP roads was 17,666 in 2015.The number increased by nearly 2,000 last year despite significant decrease in road crashes from nearly 39,000 in 2015 to 35,612 last year. The data also indicates how every second road crash recorded in the state resulted in death of at least one person. Tamil Nadu also saw similar increase in road deaths from 15,642 in 2015 to more than 17,200 in 2016.
Remedies
Fixing black spots brings deaths down
Casualties reduced: 2011-13 Dipak Dash The Times of India Feb 02 2015 New Delhi
Road Casualties Dip By 28% In 2 Yrs: Report Showing that efforts to fix black spots can help reduce road fatalities, the first-ever comparative analysis of trends from the top 25 black spots in 13 states has shown deaths coming down by over 28% in two years. While the number of such deaths was 3,017 in 2011, it came down to 2,153 in 2013. Black spots are locations which report abnormally high number of road crashes. The road transport ministry had flagged off identifying black spots on roads for the first time in 2011 and had also pushed for treatment of such zones.
The 13 states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Kerala, Gujarat, Bihar and West Bengal, together account for 88.4% of the total road crashes in the country . According to the data compiled by the transport research wing of the ministry , the maximum reduction in fatalities at such spots was reported in Tamil Nadu. In absolute numbers, the decline was 385 fatalities between 2011 and 2013.
Madhya Pradesh registered almost 60% reduction in fatalities at such high-risk spots on its roads.
But some other states, including Haryana and West Bengal, reported a minor increase in fatalities. “States where there is no reduction in fatalities are a greater concern for us. The steps taken there are not proving to be adequate. Even in other states, the effort has to achieve zero fatalities at such spots since the agencies are now aware of the causes of crashes and what they need to do to rectify those factors,“ a transport ministry official said.
Officials and road safety experts said certain points or stretches have become black spots because of inadequate facilities to road users, bad road design such as blind turns, lack of traffic signals or narrow junctions.
As per a government report, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is responsible for fixing 203 of the 322 identified black spots, has completed short-term measures at 159 spots. It has completed longterm remedial measures at 57 spots and work is in progress at another 125 spots.
“But what we are now observing is that new black spots are being identified, once the old ones are fixed.So, we are going to carry out a detailed study of black spots in five states -UP, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Delhi -to identify the steps that need to be taken,“ a ministry official said.
Speedbreakers
The Times of India, Jul 09 2015
Rumu Banerjee & Somreet Bhattacharya TNN
Violating IRC & CRRI guidelines, speed breakers are being built arbitrarily
Speed breakers have sprung up all over the city, making driving quite hazardous. What's described as a traffic calming measure by the traffic police is a source of great agitation for most drivers. Essentially a pedestrianfriendly measure, these have become a nuisance because they are not built or installed according to guidelines and the choice of spots is arbitrary .This causes damage to vehicles and also poses a threat to people. Rohini resident Atul Kumar was so concerned that he filed a PIL in the Delhi high court against “illegal“ speed breakers. The court has sought replies from the agencies concerned, including the Delhi Traffic Police. While these humps are erupting all over the city, the speed breaker committee, which had been set up specifically for the purpose of identifying locations, hasn't met for a long time.
The traffic police, which is the primary agency for identifying the location and need for speed breakers, says it recommends them based on requests from resident welfare associations or for stretches where speeds need to brought down or which are accidentprone. The reality though is that several speed breakers have come up since 2014 which don't adhere to the guidelines of the Indian Road Congress (IRC). “Based on RTI replies, we identified 24 speed breakers that don't follow IRC norms. There must be scores more we don't know about inside colony roads or on arterial roads,“ said Kumar.
According to IRC's 1987 guidelines, a speed breaker should have a radius of 17m with a width of 3.7m and a height of 0.1m. This is calculated to reduce the speed of the vehicle to 25kmph. Organisations like CRRI (Central Road Research Institute) have also come up with a code for speed breakers at various speeds speed. S Velmurugan, head of the traffic engineering and road safety division in CRRI, explains: “For instance, if you want to bring the speed down by even a fraction to 50kmph, then the dimensions of a speed breaker will be different from one which brings down the speed to 30kmph.“ Such speed humps come as speed “tables“ or “transverse bar markings“.
And Velmurugan admits that these specifications are not being followed. Mukhtesh Chander, special commission er (traffic), however, claim that permission to construct a speed breaker is given only af ter an extensive survey by th traffic police and PWD “There are residential colo nies which have installed speed breakers on colony roads which we have strongly objected to and asked the civi bodies to take appropriate ac tion,“ he said. One such speed breaker installed near Market No.3 of CR Park has become a major nuisance. It is just a few steps away from a busy traffic light and cars slow down here, causing a tailback. Apparently , no approval was sought from the traffic police. Away from the colonies, speed breakers have been installed at the foot of flyovers at many places. This is most dangerous because there is a heightened risk of a vehicle ramming the one that has slowed down. So, cars are just driving over it.
According to Velmurugan, speed breakers should be built at intersections, especially when a minor road meets a major arterial road. Warning signs should be placed 100m before the hump or 50m in case of low-speed roads. Speed breakers should have reflective white paint in order to warn commuters. These should not appear suddenly or be invisible.
Haryana: Fixing faulty bumps
The Times of India, Jul 07 2015
Praveen Jose
Fix faulty bumps: Haryana HC
The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the Haryana government to identify and flatten all speedbreakers that don't adhere to standards.
The high court has also asked the state to penalize agencies responsible for constructing such bumps while taking note of concerns that faultily designed humps expose people, especially the elderly, to head, spinal and cranial injuries and also damage vehicles.
Bhiwani Sudhar Vikas Samiti, a Haryana-based NGO, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) for fixing unscientific speed bumps in Gurgaon and other districts.
Most speed bumps in the city are not built to Indian Road Congress' specifications, NGO chief Pawan Kumar Anchal told TOI on Monday. “The lack of enforcement of these specifications by authorities-be it HUDA, the municipal corporations or the public works department--has caused several accidents, damage to vehicles and is also responsible for spine-related problems of the elderly and disabled persons,“ he added.
“In some places, you will find speed breakers built at a higher level than average ground clearance of most cars. In other parts, there's neither any painting of the speedbreaker nor any signage prior to it,“ the NGO chief pointed out. The next hearing in the high court is on July 21.
Gurgaon deputy commissioner T L Satyaprakash agreed a survey needs to be done to identify faulty speed bumps. “We need to carry out an audit of where speed breakers are a must and where they are not needed. We also have to ensure those are scientifically built. MCG, HUDA and PWD should take this up in their areas,“ he said.
Pankaj Agarwal, director of the Urban Local Bodies, which is responsible for im plementing the high court order, said, “We have sent out letters to all deputy commissioners and municipal commissioners seeking information about speed breakers built by them, before July 21.We will prepare a reply to be filed in the court once we get the inputs,“ he said.
Doctors said that speed breakers are responsible for spinal injuries, and the elderly and the kids are the most vulnerable.
Dr Vineesh Mathur, director of Spine Services at Me danta, said, “Speed breakers must be marked and be visible from a minimum of 100 metres. Unmarked bumps are the main cause of spinal injuries in the sitting position, as it causes vertical loading. The most affected are old people as they have weak bones and soft tissues.“
The Society of Indian Automobiles Manufacturers' director general Vishnu Mathur said, “The government charges heavier excise duty on vehicles with bigger ground clearance. It is an irony that in India, when most automobile companies are aiming to match their vehicle standards with the US and Europe, the standards of roads are not up to the mark, especially the speed breakers.“
Speed breakers and the law
2016: Delhi HC orders removal
The Times of India, May 26 2016
A bench of Justices B D Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva said speed breakers constructed on public roads without authorisation or recommendation of traffic police and not conforming to prescribed norms are “unauthorised“ and must be removed. The high court gave four weeks to all civic bodies--the three municipal corporations, public works department, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Cantonment Board and Delhi Development Authority--which are responsible for maintaining the roads in the capital.
The court also directed the traffic police and the civic bodies to ensure that speed breakers which do not conform with the guidelines of Indian Road Congress and the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre are not constructed.
The court said that plastic or PVC speed breakers must also be removed if they fail to conform with the guidelines and if they haven't been cleared by the traffic police. The high court also directed the agencies to put up signage, according to the guidelines, which will help the commuters to know there is a speed breaker.
The bench made it clear that its directions “shall be strictly complied with“ and warned that in case of noncompliance, it “would be constrained to take coercive action“. The court was hearing two PILs filed against the construction of speed breakers without compliance with the guidelines. One of these was filed by Guru Hanuman Society , an NGO. The PIL wanted directions from the court to remove all the “ill-designed speed breakers constructed since March 2014“.
The high court has listed the petitions for August 31.The authorities have to file affidavits by then, indicating they have complied with the court's directions
Claimed 3,409 lives in 2015
Speedbreakers probably take more lives in India than they save. Road transport ministry data reveals that these `safeguards' are the cause of 30 crashes daily , killing at least nine people a day .That's the average for two years since the government started collecting data on speedbreakers in 2014. Last year's figures are yet to be published, but government sources say they are likely to be similar.
In fact, speedbreakers in India claimed more lives (3,409 in 2015) than all road accidents in Australia and the UK (2,937 deaths in 2015) put together. Faulty design, poor material and lack of prominent markings make them dangerous for road users.
“This is a menace across the country . We have speedbreakers on every road which can break your bones and da mage your vehicle,“ admitted Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari. He told TOI that his ministry will write to states to ensure norms are followed while building speedbreakers. Gadkari said his ministry will seek to ensure that speadbreakers come up only at designated spots after a proper assessment. In rural areas, speedbreakers can be found at every 100 metres, particularly near the residence of local leaders. In many places, people make DIY bumps with bricks to slow down traffic.
While the ministry has instructed highway-owning agencies to remove all speedbreakers from the main carriageways, it says it can only advise states to follow norms.
So, are speedbreakers a good idea or not? Traffic experts say that depends on the type of road. For example, there should be a speedbreaker where a minor road meets a major road so that vehicles coming from small roads slow down. In urban areas, they should be built after assessing how crash-prone those areas are.
But ill-designed speedbreakers become dangerous, cautions A P Bahadur, road safety consultant for World Bank. He suggests greater use of alternatives like rumble strips and 5mm thermoplastic layers. “People feel speedbreaker is the only solution to road crashes. There are instances when locals demand its immediate construction after a major crash takes place,“ he says. In such cases, local engineers do what is demanded of them.
Trends
Road accidents mostly result in death or serious injuries
The Times of India, May 27 2016
Half of all road accidents result in death or serious injuries
Dipak Dash
In an alarming trend, at least 50% of all the road crashes ended up with either fatalities or grevious injuries, according to latest government data. Over 1.46 lakh people died in road crashes in India in 2014.
The Road Accidents in India (2015) report shows that out of little over five lakh crashes, nearly 1.32 lakh were fatal ones and another 1.2 lakh resulted in grievous injuries. “Many of the seriously injured may be becoming permanently disabled. Such injuries have huge implications on families and in many cases they are pushed to poverty ,“ said road safety expert Rohit Baluja.
According to estimates of Asian Development Bank, seven out of 10 crash victims' families suffer decrease in income and two-third of victims' families take loans to cover income loss.
The report also mentions how the numbers of hit-and-run cases and fatalities of two-wheeler riders have also gone up significantly . Their numbers increased from 18,703 in 2013 to 20,709 during 2015. Similarly, at least 46,000 people riding two-wheelers were killed in road crashes last year.
Two-wheeler riders are one of the constituents of “vulnerable road users“, which includes pedestrians and cyclists. The total share of the three categories of road users claimed 63,100 lives, which is almost 43% of the total road deaths last year.
The report also mentions how number of crashes and share of fatalities is higher on roads that pass through rural areas. According to data, 61% of the fatalities were reported on roads falling under rural areas, which also includes national and state highways.
“Besides lack of proper engineering of roads, we have the issue of people hardly getting caught for traffic offences. Just hiking fines will not serve any purpose unless there is proper enforcement,“ Baluja pointed out.
2014: Age profile, regions worst affected
The Times of India, Sep 03 2015
Dipak Dash
75,000 youngsters killed in road crashes in 2014
Delhi tops list of deadly cities with 1,671 dying in 2014
India's killer roads claimed the lives of 75,000 people aged between 15 and 34 years last year. Over 82% of these victims were males, according to the Road Accident Report for 2014 prepared by the road transport and highways ministry .
PM Narendra Modi too made an appeal on the issue to elders of families in a recent radio address.
According to the report prepared by the ministry's transport research wing (TRW), the total number of road crashes has increased marginally from 4.86 lakh in 2013 to 4.89 lakh in 2014. The number of fatalities has also gone up by about 1.5%. Thirteen states -Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana -account for about 83.2% of the deaths.
It says about 12% of the fatalities happened in 50 cities with populations of over a million each, Delhi leading with 1,671 deaths and Chennai registering the second highest number at 1,118.
2014-15: poor and young people worst impacted
The Times of India, June 20, 2016
Dipak Dash
Poor, young worst-hit in road crashes: Report
The poor and the young (in the age-group of 15 to 30 years) are the worst impacted in road crashes, an evaluation of India's first cashless scheme for accident victims has revealed. According to the interim report, nearly 75% of the crash victims on Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch of NH-8 were the poorest.
The evaluation carried out by the PGI, Chandigarh has revealed how the number of crashes recorded or registered by police are far less than the actual numbers. The difference in number of crashes as recorded by police and insurance companies for claims between September 2014 and September 2015 has been found to be more than five times in some months.
“Data collection is very poor in our country . There is a concrete finding to suggest how we need to have a robust compilation of road crash details,“ a transport ministry official said. In fact, World Health Organisation had estimated the total fatalities in road crashes in India at around 2.07 lakh while government data put it at 1.37 lakh in 2013.
After rolling out the first scheme to provide first 48 hours' free medical care costing up to Rs 30,000 on the Gurgaon-Jaipur stretch, the road transport ministry had implemented this on Mumbai-Vadodara and Ranchi-Mahulia stretches. While 13,252 road crash victims were provided medical help on the GurgaonFaridabad stretch, in case of the Mumbai-Vadodara stretch there were 2,238 beneficiaries . There were 1,318 beneficiaries in the case of the Ranchi-Mahulia stretch. The average cost per beneficiary was around Rs 14,381.
The transport ministry has proposed to extend the cashless scheme to the entire Golden Quadrilateral and East-West and North-South corridors, which will cost around Rs 254 crore annually .
2014: Age of vehicle and accidents
The Times of India, Sep 03 2015
Dipak Dash
Newer vehicles involved in bulk of accidents
Contrary to the general belief that old vehicles are likely to be involved in more crashes, particularly fatal ones, the latest official data shows that it's 1-6-yearold vehicles that are involved in the largest chunk of such cases. Vehicles ranging from 2-4 years old accounted for the highest numbers of both crashes (86,956) and deaths (24,494), the national road accidents report shows. This is for the first time the report prepared by the government's transport research wing has incorporated such details. “This data itself can be used to analyze why young fleets are involved in more cases. However, it's quite clear that the human beings behind the wheel are mainly responsible for crashes and fatalities.Speeding could be one of the key reasons. But so far, no scientific study has been done to establish the reason,“ said a government official.
In fact, the report mentions that 78.8% of crashes are caused due to “driver's fault“ and more than 56% of the total deaths were due to speeding. Across the globe, speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and not wearing helmets and seatbelts have been identified as the main factors behind crashes and high fatalities.All these relate to the behaviour of drivers.
The carelessness of drivers is also established from the data, which shows that the share of fatalities in rural areas is higher since commuters have little fear of getting caught because of almost no presence of traffic police personnel.
No Accident Day, UP: 2015
The Times of India, Jul 02 2015
UP's `No Accident Day' a hit as no mishap in three big cities
UP's ambitious `No Accidents Day' saw something close to a miracle. No road mishaps in three of its biggest cities -Meerut, Agra and Bareilly -were reported on July 1 till late in the evening. To make the campaign successful, police had been deployed at high-accident `grey' and `black' spots across the state.At many places they conducted eye check-ups. The state reported 16,287 deaths from traffic accidents and 22,337 injuries in 2014.According to traffic officials, 70% of road mishaps occur due to negligence, while 10% occur because of snags.
Months when accidents highest (May), lowest (monsoons)
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STATOISTICS - RAIN-FALL
The Times of India Aug 02 2014
The monsoon might mean waterlogged roads, flooding of low-lying areas, overflowing of gutters and ditches -complete traffic chaos in a nutshell. An analysis of NCRB data on traffic accidents in the past ten years shows the positive side of this turmoil. At the all-India level, July, August and September witness the lowest number of accidents. May, on the other hand, is the month that sees the most accidents. Experts link this to clear weather during the month in most of the country and the fact that truckers' working hours increase also because goods are being transported before the rains make it more difficult to do so. Because engines tend to heat up during the day in the summer, commercial transport seeks to maximize the night. With visibility also good, average speeds tend to rise too, hence the larger number of accidents in May. The monsoon, in contrast, increases caution and reduces speed and volume of traffic. A state-wise analysis shows variations from this all-India trend. But these can also be linked to the local climate and terrain. For instance, accidents spike in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh during the winters, perhaps due to the dense fog often seen in these months
Soldiers: Major peacetime killers
The Times of India Apr 21 2015
Rajat Pandit
At least 300 jawans die every year
Without going to war the Army has lost well over 6,500 soldiers in peacetime since the 1999 Kargil conflict. Around half that the number of soldiers were killed in each of the three wars fought in 1962 1965 and 1971.
It includes around 4,700 “battle casualties” occurring due to enemyterrorist ac tion and extreme weather natural disasters in high-alti tude areas as well as different kinds of on-duty mishaps, in cluding road accidents.
Over these numbers, sui cides constitute a major chunk of “non-operational“ deaths. Around 100 soldiers take their own lives in the Army's highly-disciplined environs every year despite successive governments holding several measures have been taken to reduce stress in the 1.17 million-strong force. Just since 2010, over 520 soldiers have committed suicide.
But the toll in counter-ter rorism operations has largely been brought under control over the last several years, even though soldiers are still not properly equipped with basic protection gear like light-weight modular bulletproof jackets and ballistic helmets. The annual counter-terror casualty rate is now down to below 50 from around 300 just over a decade ago.
The Army may have gained “ascendancy“ over militancy but it's finding it difficult to tackle the biggest peace-time killer among its ranks. Consider this: 313 soldiers were killed in road accidents in 2003, 315 in 2004 and 295 in 2005. A decade later, the numbers still stand at 306 (2012), 297 (2013) and 284 (2014), as per data collected by TOI.
The ongoing Army commanders' conference in New Delhi would do well to focus on concrete measures to reduce road accidents in the force.These could range from more rigorous training for drivers and proper pre-induction training before deployment in treacherous terrain as well as stricter overall monitoring and phasing out of old vehicles.
A senior officer, however, contended the number of deaths was “not much“ compared to the “sheer volume“ of the Army's vehicular movement across the country . Take just the infantry , which has 382 battalions with 800-900 soldiers each. There are around 40 vehicles, from motorcycles to heavy-duty ALS 5-tonne trucks, in each battalion.
“Yes, there are many cases of negligent driving. But our drivers also have to drive in snow-bound mountains, deserts, jungles or marshes. If one truck goes down a valley , 20 soldiers could be killed in one go,“ said another officer.
There is also the “fatigue factor“ in long convoys, which carry troops, ammunition and other supplies, to different areas. “Proper maintenance of vehicles is also carried out, with older ones like the famous Shaktiman trucks being phased out,“ he said.
State Road Transport Corporations/ Undertakings
Delhi Transport Corporation’s accidents
The Times of India, Nov 26 2015 Rumu Banerjee
Most DTC bus mishaps due to rash driving: Study
At a time when the Delhi government is making serious efforts to promote public transport, an internal study by Delhi Transport Corporation has revealed shocking facts about the state of the bus agency . An analysis of data till July 2014 and 2015 has shown that a significant number of accidents involving DTC buses were due to “rash and negligent“ driving. While 16.66% of accidents took place due to a fault of DTC drivers, 5.56% were due to fault of “others“. According to data by the traffic police, DTC has had fi ve fatal accidents in the past two months, three in October and two in September. The transport utility , meanwhile says there have been 18 fata accidents involving DTC bu ses between January and Ju ly this year. The internal stu dy, which looks at accident fi gures from January to July compares the accident figu res of 2015 with 2014.
In the same period last ye ar, there were 18 fatal acci dents but none due to rash and negligent driving. There are also figures for accidents due to other reasons, clubbed as “miscellaneous“ and stand at 66.66%. This sub-he ad, said officials, were for accidents caused due to external factors. In 2014, all the 18 accidents had happe ned under this category .
Interestingly, there is also a sub-head for accidents caused due to “alighting of passengers“. This consists of one accident or 5.56% of passengers “alighting“ from the front gate while another accident is due to boarding of passengers from rear gate.
While DTC claims accident rates have “come down“, the traffic police have a different story to tell. According to the cops, speeding is a common complaint, one that has elicited remarks about DTC and cluster buses “going the Blueline way“.And though DTC officials say that speed governors have been installed on buses, the reality is that few of them work.As a result, most drivers still drive at a high speed on cong ested roads leading to accidents. Said a senior government official, “The fact is that almost none of the buses of DTC has a working GPS, nor speed governors. Checking speed or route thus is difficult.“
DTC has 12,196 drivers on its rolls, with roughly 4,000 being contractual. Drivers involved in accidents are chargesheeted to which they respond within a given period. If accepted, they get back on duty . The rest are suspended and go through an inquiry committee, which decides on the quantum of punishment. After that, they are put back on duty .
Two-wheelers, accidents involving
Two-wheelers claim 94 lives every day
Dipak Kumar Dash
Two-wheelers claim 94 lives a day while trucks and lorries account for 66 fatalities, according to the NCRB report for 2013. Though overall, there is marginal reduction in total number of people killed on roads last year in comparison to 2012, these two indicators signal how there is little regulation or enforcement of road safety measures.
Two-wheelers at higher risk
The Times of India, May 23 2016
Dipak Dash
An analysis of 3,750 samples of road crash victims, who were brought to JPN Apex Trauma Centre of AIIMS in Delhi last year, shows that the mortality rate of victims riding two-wheelers was 8.4% and for cars users it was 8.3%.
In the two-wheeler category, the majority of the dead (71%) were drivers while in the case of cars, passengers accounted for 70% of the fatalities. The data presen ted by Dr Amit Gupta of trauma surgery and critical care department at a recent road safety conference organised by Institute of Road Traffic Education indicated how there is a dire need to enforce helmet and seatbelt laws for all occupants in mo tor vehicles.
Another study conducted by King George's Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow showed how a high proportion of those killed or injured in road crashes were either drivers of two-wheelers (43.1%) or pillion riders (15.4%). “We found that only 15.4% of the victims rushed to hospital were wearing helmet and the usage of seat belt at the time of crash was only 14.3%,“ said Dr Ajai Singh of KGMU.
The study also showed that out of 267 patients registered for the study, 35 (13.1%) died during the course of their treatment and another 36 patients were discharged with permanent disability .It was also found that 16.9% drivers brought to the hospital did not have driving licence.
Moreover, over-speeding, alcohol consumption and sleep deprivation was reported at 14.2%, 8.6% and 0.7% respectively.
Data from both AIIMS Trauma Centre and KGMU showed that nearly half of the injured brought to hospitals were in their prime of their youth. Trauma Centre data showed that 50% of all injured patients they received in 2015 were related to road traffic injuries.
Part II: the year-wise position
2012-17: road accidents and casualties
See graphic. Rail accidents and casualties, 2012-17
2013: Road accidents and Mortality Rate
See graphic
2014: Road accidents
2014: Road accidents, Delhi
The Times of India, Jul 19 2015
Dipak Dash
16 lives lost every hour, India's roads deadliest ever in 2014
Delhi had the worst record among cities32% died on roads, 7% in ops: NCRB
Indian roads were at their deadliest in 2014 claiming more than 16 lives every hour on an average.Over 1.41 lakh people died in accidents, 3% more than the number of fatalities in 2013.The numbers of crashes and of people left injured -at 4.5 lakh and 4.8 lakh -were also at the highest levels since the recording of such data started in India. According to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), speeding and danger ous driving were the biggest reasons for road fatalities. Accidents involving two-wheelers and lorries accounted for nearly half of the lives lost in road crashes.
Among 53 mega cities, Delhi registered the highest number of fatalities at 2,199. It was followed by Chennai (1,046), Bhopal (1,015) and Jaipur (844).
While 13,787 two-wheeler drivers were killed in crashes, 23,529 other people were killed in accidents involving these vehicles, while close to 1.4 lakh people were left injured. Speeding accounted for about 1.7 lakh crashes and nearly 49,000 deaths. Dangerouscareless driving or overtaking claimed another 42,000-plus lives in 1.4 lakh crashes.
Most deaths in UP, P 18 Over four times more paramilitary personnel die in road accidents than fighting terrorists or Maoists. New National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data show that of 1,232 central armed police force (CAPF) deaths in 2014, 32% were due to road accidents while only 7% were due to operations against terrorists. As many 175 committed suicide while 12 died in fratricide.
According to the data, 32.1%, 8.4% and 7.2% casualties in CAPFs were due to roadrailways accidents, natural calamities and killed in action operationencounteretc. respectively .
This is the first time government has specifically collected data on deaths of paramilitary personnel and assigned them various causes.The forces include BSF, CRPF, SSB, NSG, ITBP , CISF and As sam Rifles which have a cumulative strength of 9.27 lakh.
There have been forcespecific studies done earlier but never a comprehensive one. For example, in 2014 home ministry put out data that showed more CRPF men died due to diseases than fighting Maoists.
According to that data, in 2014, while 50 CRPF men died in Maoist attacks, 95 died due to various diseases. Of these 27 fell to malaria, while 35 died due to heart attack. Most paramilitary personnel died in roadrail accidents in Telangana.
With 111 of 194 deaths in the state belonging to this category, it makes up for 66.7% of all CAPF deaths in the state. There are three other states that have more than 50% CAPF deaths due to roadrail accidents. These include Jammu & Kashmir (27 out of 43), Arunachal Pradesh (17 out of 24), and West Bengal (5 out of 8). Interest ingly , there is not a single operation-related death in Jammu and Kashmir, indicating increased normalcy .
The data, however, put maximum CAPF deaths in the undefined “unnatural deaths“ category. Excluding roadrail accidents, this accounts for 51.3% of total CAPF deaths due to causes other than natural death.
Not surprisingly , Chhattisgarh which has seen the worst of Maoist violence over the years, has recorded maximum casualties in operations. Chhattisgarh accounted for 31 out of 89 deaths in operations.
Curiously Uttar Pradesh, which has been comparatively much quieter as far as Maoist violence is concerned and does not share borders with any hostile country , comes a close second accounting 30 operational deaths. They together make up for over 68% deaths in operations.
Jammu & Kashmir has accounted for 66.7% of total fratricide incidents (8 out of 12), pointing at some level stressful conditions in which jawans function there.
Age of victims: mostly 15-35
The Times of India, May 21 2016
Every 3rd road death victim is aged 15-24
Dipak Dash
One in every three persons dying in road crashes in India is a teenager or young adult in the 1524 age group, data with the Centre reveals. The proportion of fatalities rises to 54% if the 15-35 age group is considered. Last year, 1,46,133 people died in crashes. Of these, 79,000 were in this age group. In 2014, the number was 70,000, indicating how India loses a huge number of young lives to road crashes year after year.
These statistics were collated from figures sent by state police departments. They show 28-30% of all road cras hes take place on national highways, which account for 35% of all road fatalities despite having just a 2% share of India's road network. Sources said the Supreme Court-appointed com mittee on road safety has sought a detailed response on why national highways have a deadly record of deaths -47,649 people died on these roads in 2014 and almost 51,000 last year. The committee also wanted to know what steps the government was taking to reduce fatalities.
Sources said one of the main reasons of youths dying in road crashes could be the high number of fatalities involving two-wheelers and pedestrians. However, data on this is hazy due to absence of a crash investigation system in the country.
“It's a matter of utmost shame to see children dying.It's a time for a political awakening to fix responsibilities. Are those who make laws responsible or those who enforce these, or the agencies who design faulty roads?“ asked road safety expert Rohit Baluja. “Even parents or school authorities who allow our young people to be confronted with such risks must be held responsible. But such calamities must not be acceptable to us as a society,“ Baluja added.
2012-14: Unlicensed drivers, accidents by
The Times of India Dec 21 2015
Dipak Dash
Accidents caused by drivers without licences increased by 54% between 2012 and 2014, according to data provided by the police departments of all states and Union Territories. In abso ute numbers, the accident count went up from 25,463 to 39,314. In the same period, drivers younger than 18 caused between 19,000 and 21,500 accidents.
Though the official count s evidently much less than actual numbers, it reflects the ree run such drivers seem to enjoy and the need to bring them to book. Transport ministry officials said local police hardly ever book such offenders or the owners of vehicles as they treat these as petty offences.
Global studies suggest drivers in the age group of 1619 are four times more likely to cause accidents compared to older drivers. Teenagers are also more likely to speed, jump traffic lights, take wrong turns and drive after consuming alcohol or drugs.Usually, no one favours taking action against young boys and girls, including their parents, transport ministry officials added.
“The actual number of vio ations, including under-age driving and without licence, is much higher as there is hardly any detection of such drivers in rural areas and small towns. We don't get proper data that can help us plan better and map the gaps. What we al so need is to educate parents and schoolgoing children,“ K K Kapila, chief of International Road Federation, said.
Interestingly, details sub mitted by the road transport ministry to Parliament last week said Delhi traffic police did not provide details on either count.
Drivers, women
Women are safer drivers, says police study Indrani Basu TNN
The Times of India, Oct 17, 2011
New Delhi: Busting the stereotype about women being bad drivers, a report compiled by Delhi Traffic Police reveals that woman drivers cause less
than 2% of all fatal road mishaps in the city and their involvement in accidents has dropped in the past few years despite more women taking the wheel.
Till September 15 this year, 12 fatal accidents were caused by women in Delhi, against 724 by men, the report said. Woman drivers were involved in 53 accidents causing injury while the number for men was 2,524. Even in accidents which did not cause injuries, the male-female ratio was 284:4.
“The data does not support the popular impression that women are poor drivers,” said joint CP (traffic) Satyendra Garg. Women smash stereotype, more cautious behind wheel
New Delhi: A report compiled by the Delhi Traffic Police has debunked the age-old stereotype about women being bad drivers as they are found to be involved in less than 2% of all fatal road mishaps in the city. They are believed to be more cautious and therefore responsible for fewer accidents.
“The number of women drivers is just a fraction of the number of men who drive. But even proportionately, women are involved in far fewer accidents and incidents of rash driving than their male counterparts,” said joint commissioner of police (traffic) Satyendra Garg.
“Our impression is women are far safer drivers, with a tendency to follow traffic rules. This disproves the contention that women cannot drive,” he added.
The report is in sharp contrast to the findings of a recent “perception-based” survey by an industry chamber which said women were more aggressive drivers and caused more road fatalities.
Overall, 5,432 road accident cases were reported in the city till September 15, of which woman drivers were found to be responsible for 69 – just over 1% of the total.
The report said over the years, the involvement of woman drivers in accidents has also decreased. While in 2008 women were found to be involved in 107 road accidents, the figure dropped to 101 and then 72 in 2009 and 2010 respectively. Despite stringent checks by the traffic police, women have not been found driving drunk.
Driving school instructors too rubbish perceptions of women having poor motor skills. “More number of women have started driving. Though they are predominantly young girls in the age group of 18-20 years, women of all ages, including between 55 and 60 years, also come to us for learning how to drive. Women are more diligent students and are interested in learning traffic rules carefully. They are perhaps more hesitant and cautious but that is better than rash driving,” said Gaurav Kaghait, senior instructor at New Star Motor Driving College in Kalkaji.
2014: Rash driving arrests among women
The Times of India, Nov 10 2015
V Narayan
Kerala, Maha women lead in arrests for rash driving
Women drivers of Maharashtra and Kerala have beaten their counterparts across the country to emerge as the worst offenders when it comes to rash driving or road rage. According to National Crime Records Bureau data, of the 1,355 women arrested in 2014 for the offence, 263 or 19.4% were in Kerala, and 183 or 15.6% in Maharashtra. With 141 arrests, Gujarat was third in the list. Delhi was much further down with 97 arrests.
Bihar, meanwhile, accounted for the most number of arrests of women for causing death due to negligence (52) in 2014. Uttar Pradesh is second with 49 arrests, followed by West Bengal (42), Tamil Nadu (24) and Karnataka (21). This is the first time rash driving cases have been classified separately in the NCRB's report. NCRB director general Archana Ramasundaram, in her cover note for the 2014 report, stated that like the earlier editions, this report contains detailed information on cognisable crimes, and disposal of crimes by police and courts, etc, but has more chapters. Mumbai joint commis sioner of police (traffic) Milind Bharambe said most accidents caused by reckless driving can be prevented simply by following rules.
2015
2015, Number of accidents: 4.96 lakh
Arvind Chauhan, `4.96 lakh traffic accidents, 1.8L deaths in 2015', Jan 8, 2017: The Times of India
A total of 4.96 lakh traffic accidents were reported in the country in 2015 in which 1.77 lakh people were killed while 4.86 lakh people were injured, according to latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Compared to 2014, the number of traffic accidents across India rose by 3.1% in 2015 (from 4.81 lakh to 4.96 lakh).
With 23,219 deaths in a year, UP reported the highest number of fatalities in road and rail accidents. The state is followed by Maharashtra (18,404 deaths) and Tamil Nadu (17,376 deaths). The figures include deaths in road and rail accidents, which are together referred to as `traffic accidents'.
In 2014 too, UP reported the highest number of combined road and rail fatalities by any state in the country at 20,653, of which 16,284 were killed in road accidents alone.
In 2015, the three states comprised more than one-third of all fatalities in the country (58,999 out of 1,77,423), according to the data released by NCRB on January 3.
Roads with highest accidents, fatalities: 2015
The Times of India, May 26 2016
Dipak Dash
Among all million-plus cities in India, roads were deadliest in Amritsar where seven lives were snuffed out in every 10 road crashes last year. Ludhiana ranked second with one death in every two crashes and Varanasi was third in the list, according to the latest government data on road accidents released.
The report prepared by the Transport Research Wing (TRW) of road ministry shows while the overall number of deaths in accidents in 50 big cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, has been decreasing over the past three years probably due to increasing congestion, road fatalities are on the rise in rural areas.
The fatalities in big cities have fallen from 17,007 in 2013 to 16,513 in 2015. But in rural areas, it has gone up from 83,003 to 89,155 during the same period. The total number of road deaths in India stood at 1.46 lakh, which is the highest ever and maximum among all countries. “Speeding and little en forcement have been the main reasons behind the increasing number of fatalities. We must carry out a study to assess the socio-economic cost of crashes, fatalities and injuries since we are losing very young people in road crashes,“ said Ashish Kumar, former TRW chief.
Pointing out the need for the Centre and states to work together to deal with this crisis, a government official said 13 states, including UP, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, MP, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana, accounted for 83.6% of all road fatalities.
World's deadliest roads, India
The Times of India, April 21, 2016
Indian roads, world's deadliest, killed record 400day in '15
Dipak Dash Indian roads, which account for the highest fatalities in the world, became even more dangerous in 2015 with the number of deaths rising nearly 5% to 1.46 lakh. This translates to 400 deaths a day or one life snuffed out every 3.6 minutes, which an expert described as a “daily massacre on our roads“.
The number comes as a wake-up call for the government, whose minister Nitin Gadkari has set a goal of reducing road fatalities by 50% by 2020.
According to provisional police data provided by states, Uttar Pradesh recorded the maximum number of road deaths (17,666), followed by Tamil Nadu (15,642), Maharashtra (13,212), Karnataka (10,856) and Rajasthan (10,510).
While the number of road fatalities increased in all big states, 10 smaller ones and UTs, including Delhi and Chandigarh, reported a decline. Assam registered the sharpest decline of 115 deaths in 2015 in comparison to the previous year, while fatalities dipped by 49 in Delhi.
The increasing number of fatalities and road crashes up from 4.89 lakh in 2014 to over five lakh in 2015 -indicated how a slew of initiatives taken by the Centre and state governments for road safety has had little impact. The Supreme Court appointed panel on road safety has written to state governments to step up efforts to curb crashes and fatalities.
“We need a comprehensive legislation to deal with this daily massacre on our roads.Stronger law and better enforcement are the key to reduce crashes,“ said K K Kapila of International Road Federation. Following the death of Union minister Gopinath Munde in an early-morning accident in June 2014 -days after the Modi government came to power -the Centre had announced it would enact a bolder law for road transport and safety . But there has been little progress, with some states expressing reservations against certain provisions of a draft bill.
The road transport ministry has called a meeting of state transport secretaries next week to prepare a roadmap for measures to reduce crashes, including a stricter regime for issuing driving licences and installing safety gadgets in vehicles.
Sources said the measures under consideration include a higher penalty with community service for serious offenders involved in drunk driving, speeding and juvenile driving, and a provision to pin accountability on owners of vehicles driven by minors, besides prohibiting hand-held devices such as mobile phones while driving.
2015: Proportion of young population
Dipak Dash , Every 3rd person killed in road accidents is a youth, Jan 29 2017: The Times of India
The report of the road transport ministry shows how every third person killed in road crashes in India is in the prime of his her youth. In 2015, at least 48,420 people in the age group of 15-24 years were killed in road crashes. The number was bigger at 79,000 deaths in the age group of 15 to 34 years. This was 54% of all road deaths that India recorded in 2015.
The data also shows how nearly 42% of the dead were victims of speeding beyond the permissible limit.
It's no different elsewhere. The latest global status report on road safety by the World Health Organisation says road crashes are the biggest killer of people in the age group of 15-29 years and the number is much more than the lives lost in suicides, HIV AIDS, homicide or lower respiratory infection. While increasing penalty for grave offences such as speeding, dangerous driving, drunk driving and using mobile phone while on the wheels are key to tame unruly drivers, experts say what India lacks is a mechanism to ensure that every traffic offender, at least in urban areas, is caught.
“Until there is fear of getting caught every time you violate traffic norms, most of the people won't mend their ways. States and cities need to take quick steps to monitor every violation, which the Centre is pursuing with them since this is a state subject,“ said K K Kapila of International Road Federation. S P Singh of IFTRT, a Delhi-based think tank, said the focus of traffic rule enforcement must be on how to do this electronically. “It's high time that CCTVs and other evidence based enforcement system are used to catch the violators. There is a need to carry out a detailed investigation into all fatal accidents to find the exact cause of crashes, which will help in finding solutions,“ Singh said.
Evidence from across the globe has shown why there is a need to slow down vehicle speed, particularly in countries like India where there is no segregation of slow and fast moving traffic. For instance, pedestrians have a 90% chance of survival if they are hit by a car travelling at a speed of 30kmh or below. But the chance of survival is less than 50% in case a car ia moving at 45 kmph or above.
2016
Increase in roads accidents in "million-plus" cities
Dipak Dash, Big cities see rise in road accident toll, August 27, 2017: The Times of India
Roads in most of the 50 `million-plus cities' including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Agra and Ludhiana were more deadly in 2016 compared with the previous year.According to government data, last year around 20 people died in every 100 road crashes in these cities, while the figure was around 15 in 2015. While Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata saw marginal decrease in the absolute number of road deaths, fatalities have increased in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Jaipur.
Those dying in road crashes in million plus cities increased from 16,513 in 2015 to 17,979 during the last year. Data shared by state governments with the transport ministry show these cities had 11.8% share in the country's total fatalities.
Government data shows roads in Ludhiana were most fatal where 384 people were killed in 549 road crashes in 2016 in comparison to 271 killed in 489 crashes during 2015. The second most unsafe city was Amritsar which claimed 102 lives in 152 crashes last year against 99 people dying in 150 road crashes a year ago.Patna roads emerged as the third most dangerous in 2016 with 52.4 people killed in every 100 road accidents as against only 39.2 in 2015.
“We need to carry out proper crash investigation to determine the causes and only then can we take the right steps,“ said road safety expert Rohit Baluja.
Highways: Most accident prone
2010-2015
The Times of India, Sep 04 2016
Dipak Dash
Delhi-Jaipur highway most fatal with 190 deaths a year in 2010-15
The Delhi-Jaipur stretch of NH-8 continues to be one of the deadliest highway corridors in the country with an average of 191 deaths annually between 2010 and 2015. In an RTI response to applicant Vedpal of Delhi, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said till June this year 104 people were killed in road crashes on this stretch. The widening of this highway stretch from Gurgaon to Jaipur had started in 2009 and it's yet to be completed.
“Recently I was going to Jaipur when I saw two major accidents. In one case, a loaded truck had overturned close to a big pothole. So, I filed the RTI to find out how many road accidents were reported in the past six years and how many people were killed. What is the significance of expanding more highways, if they end up claiming more lives?“ Vedpal asked.
According to data provided by NHAI, nearly 3,000 road crashes were reported annually during the 2010-2015 period on this 230km stretch and the figure was maximum last year at 213. In the first six months of this year, 1,637 crashes were recorded. Considering high number of fatalities, injuries and crashes on this stretch, the road transport ministry had rolled out the pilot cashless scheme to provide free medical care for the first 48 hours. But it was discontinued recently. Now NHAI will soon revive the scheme so that the injured can get assured ambulance service to reach hospitals and required treatment.
Indian highways are more fatal as these pass through habitations and further expansion poses bigger hazard unless enough caution is taken during the implementation stage. Last year 51,204 people were killed on national highways, which was 35% of the total fatalities on all roads.
Moreover, failure to provide adequate cross over facilities such as underpasses and foot over bridges often push the number of fatal crashes as the speed of vehicles usually increases because of better roads.
Indian roads dangerous, China's worse
