Introduction:

Road safety in India has always been a structural challenge, but the recent rise in fatalities shows that the problem has deepened instead of improving. Weak enforcement, unsafe roads, inadequate trauma care, growing motorisation, and a fragile licensing system have all contributed to a dangerous ecosystem in which preventable accidents routinely turn fatal.

• • • The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of two horrific road crashes - one in Phalodi, Rajasthan claiming 14 lives, and another on NH-163 in Telangana killing 19 people. These were not isolated tragedies. In 2023 alone, India lost more than 1.7 lakh people to road crashes. The Court warned that road deaths have reached “epidemic” proportions and demanded urgent corrective action from governments.

The Alarming Scale of Road Accidents:

India accounts for about 11% of global road deaths, despite having only about 1% of the world’s vehicles. It records the highest number of road fatalities in absolute terms anywhere in the world.

• • • • 1.72 lakh deaths were reported in 2023 - a 2.6% increase from 2022.
      • National highways, which form barely 2% of the total road network, contribute nearly 30% of all fatalities.
      • In the first half of 2025 alone, these corridors recorded 29,018 deaths.
    • The human cost is concentrated in a young demographic. Nearly two-thirds of victims are between 18 and 45 years, representing India’s most economically productive population. Vulnerable road users - pedestrians, two-wheeler riders, and cyclists - face the worst risks.
    • States such as Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh together account for more than half of the reported accidents, reflecting the scale of traffic on their expanding networks.
    • Economically, road crashes impose losses of over 3% of India’s GDP, including medical expenses, emergency care, legal processes, insurance payouts, and productivity losses. India has committed to halving road fatalities by 2030 under the Stockholm Declaration, but current trends suggest that this target is slipping out of reach.

Gaps in Licensing and Driver Training:

A strong licensing and training system should be the foundation of road safety. Yet in India it often functions as a mere administrative formality rather than a true test of competence.

Key shortcomings include:

• • • Minimal or no formal training: In many parts of India, a person can secure a licence without attending a proper driving school. Commercial vehicle drivers - who handle heavy vehicles weighing more than 15 tonnes - often receive no structured safety training at all.
    • Superficial driving tests: Tests are frequently reduced to simple manoeuvres on small tracks that fail to assess real-world driving skills, hazard perception, or judgment.
    • No periodic assessment: Once a licence is issued, there is almost no system to monitor a driver’s physical fitness or skill over time. Drivers who are chronically fatigued, visually impaired, or medically unfit continue to operate heavy vehicles without scrutiny.

The result is an unfiltered pool of drivers on the roads, many of whom lack the training or temperament required for safe driving.

The Enforcement Deficit:

Overspeeding, drunk driving, overloading, and lane violations remain among the leading causes of fatal crashes. But enforcement has not kept pace with the growing complexity of India’s traffic ecosystem.

• • • Manual policing dominates: Traffic enforcement still relies heavily on understaffed and overstretched police teams. Manual checks are inconsistent, prone to human error, and vulnerable to discretion and corruption.
    • Technology remains underutilised: Although automated cameras, digital challans, and speed monitoring systems exist, their coverage is uneven. States differ widely in adoption rates, data integration is poor, and fine recovery rates are low.
    • Drunk driving persists: Despite higher penalties introduced by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, drunk driving remains widespread. For instance, Delhi saw 22,703 violations in 2024, a 40% rise from the previous year.
    • Distracted driving is rising: With growing mobile phone usage, distracted driving contributes to around 8% of all accidents - a figure likely underreported.

The Supreme Court has stressed repeatedly that technology-based enforcement is crucial. But most States are still far from achieving the standards needed to deter risky behaviour.

Unsafe and Poorly Maintained Roads:

Many of India’s roads were built with the singular aim of moving vehicles fast - not safely. This design mindset has created what experts call “unforgiving roads,” where even small errors lead to fatal consequences.

Major infrastructure gaps include:

·        Poorly designed curves

·        Lack of crash barriers

·        Inadequate lighting

·        Unmarked construction zones

·        Encroachments and broken dividers

·        Absence of pedestrian crossings

·        Missing rest areas for long-distance drivers

As a result, highways meant for high-speed travel often mix fast-moving trucks with pedestrians, stray animals, parked vehicles, and slow-moving local traffic.

The 2025 Chevella crash in Telangana, where 19 people died, highlighted how weak road design and vehicle overloading combine to create lethal situations.

Evidence shows, however, that design improvements can work. The Mumbai–Pune Expressway, redesigned as part of the Zero Fatality Corridor project, witnessed a reduction of over 50% in crash deaths - proving the power of engineering and enforcement working together.

The Trauma Care Gap:

1.      Uneven ambulance networks: Rural areas may take more than an hour to get an ambulance. Even in cities, victims are often transported by bystanders without proper medical support.

2.      Lack of trauma centres: Hospitals closest to accident sites may lack:

·         Trauma surgeons

·         Emergency medicine specialists

·         Blood storage units

·         Basic resuscitation equipment

3.     Absence of a unified emergency network

India lacks an integrated trauma system with defined response times and coordinated communication between ambulances and hospitals.

Government Initiatives and Their Impact:

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019

• • • • Higher penalties for overspeeding, drunk driving, and helmet/seatbelt violations
      • E-challans and digital penalty systems
      • Mandatory safety features in vehicles
      • Legal protection for Good Samaritans

National Road Safety Policy: Focuses on safe road design, better driver training, elimination of black spots, and public awareness.

National Road Safety Board: Established to coordinate policy but yet to become fully effective.

Infrastructure Upgrades

• • • • Over 8,500 black spots identified
      • Road safety audits made mandatory
      • Safety components incorporated into highway budgets

Technology Adoption

• • • • ANPR cameras
      • AI-based monitoring
      • Virtual courts for challan settlement

Trauma Care Strengthening: Under schemes like NHARSS, efforts are underway to improve ambulance availability on highways.

Behavioural Change Campaigns: “Sadak Suraksha Jeevan Raksha” and school-level road safety education aim to build long-term awareness.

Way Forward:

1. Adopting the Safe System Approach: Recognise human error as inevitable and design roads and policies that prevent mistakes from becoming fatal. Mandatory safety audits at design, construction, and maintenance stages must be strictly enforced.

2. Stronger Enforcement Through Technology: AI-enabled cameras, speed radars, integrated e-challan systems, and tracking of repeat offenders can significantly reduce risky behaviour. Virtual courts can speed up penalty processing.

3. Modernising Infrastructure: Safer road design should prioritise:

• • • Lighting
    • Median barriers
    • Pedestrian zones
    • Cycling lanes
    • Proper signage

Global best practices, especially from Scandinavian countries, show that well-designed roads dramatically reduce deaths.

4. Better Driver Training and Licensing: India must scale district-level training centres and introduce:

• • • standardised curricula
    • psychological fitness checks
    • strict testing
    • periodic re-certification

Digitisation can eliminate fake licences and improve transparency.

5. Sustained Public Awareness: Behavioural change must be continuous. Campaigns focused on helmets, seatbelts, sober driving, and pedestrian safety should reach schools, workplaces, and communities.

Conclusion:

Road accidents are not acts of fate they are the result of avoidable failures in design, governance, and behaviour. The Supreme Court’s intervention underlines a simple truth: India cannot accept road deaths as the cost of mobility. Achieving the target of halving fatalities by 2030 will require a complete rethinking of how roads are built, how drivers are trained, how enforcement works, and how victims are treated.