Eyes on the road: On India and road traffic fatalities
An editorial analysis discusses India's high rate of road traffic fatalities and the failure of current safety measures like seat belts and helmets. It suggests that a 'Safe System' approach and better infrastructure design are necessary to reduce accidents.
Why it matters
Road safety is a major public health crisis in India, and this piece advocates for systemic policy changes over individual behavior modification.
Despite hosting only 1% of the world’s vehicular fleet, India accounts for around 11% of road traffic fatalities , due in some part to widespread non-compliance with wearing seat belts and helmets while driving. Post-crash investigations have often revealed victims being ejected from vehicles or suffering lethal secondary collisions against vehicles’ interiors; children are also vulnerable due to the patchy use of child restraint systems and rear-seat belts. Recently, a Supreme Court Bench asked the Road Transport Ministry to consider a petition to reduce road traffic deaths by habituating the use of these measures . Actual policing is certainly wanting, including due to chronic shortages of traffic police cadres; there is also room to constrain manufacturers to install tamper-proof seat belt reminders and thwart modifications after purchase.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in