Context:

India ranks first globally in annual road accident fatalities. Recently, a joint report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and SaveLIFE Foundation identified the top 100 districts with the highest severity of road accident deaths. Maharashtra’s Nashik Rural tops the list, followed by Pune Rural, Patna, and Ahmednagar.

Key Findings of the Report:

1. Accident and Fatality Data (Top Districts, 2023–24):

2. Distribution of Fatalities:

• • • • 59% of fatalities occur without any traffic violation, highlighting road engineering issues as a major contributing factor.
      • 53% of deaths occur between 6 PM and 12 AM, indicating risks linked to poor visibility and enforcement gaps.
      • 80% of victims are transported outside the government 108 ambulance system, often through private means.

3. Location-Specific Concentration:

• • • • Most accidents occur at identified crash-prone locations, specific road stretches, or near certain police stations.
      • Crash-prone sites account for 58% of fatalities, while critical corridors account for 42%.

4. Accident Types and Causes:

• • • • Rear-end, head-on, and pedestrian collisions account for 72% of fatalities.
      • Traffic violations include speeding (19%), rash driving (7%), and dangerous overtaking (3%).
      • Key engineering flaws include damaged crash barriers, faded road markings, poor signage, unprotected hard structures, and inadequate illumination.

5. Regional Insights:

• • • • Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of severe districts, followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Rajasthan.

6. Infrastructure Context:

• • • • India’s road network spans 63.45 lakh km, including 1.46 lakh km of National Highways, 1.8 lakh km of State Highways, and over 60 lakh km of other roads.
      • 63% of crash fatalities occur on non-National Highways, underscoring deficiencies in local road design, policing, and hospital preparedness.

Key Recommendations:

1. Engineering Interventions:

• • • • Conduct Road Safety Surveys on each corridor by NHAI and State PWDs.
      • Address the top 20 recurring engineering issues at crash-prone locations using IRC and MoRTH guidelines.

2. Policing and Enforcement:

• • • • Upgrade critical police stations with adequate manpower and enforcement capacity.
      • Focus on site-specific interventions in crash-prone areas.

3. Emergency Response and Health Systems:

• • • • Audit 108 ambulance services for compliance with the National Ambulance Code.
      • Target 75% of hospitalisations through the 108 ambulance system.

4. Budget and Scheme Utilisation:

• • • • The report stresses that no new schemes are required; better utilisation of existing schemes is essential.
      • Align budgets across engineering, enforcement, and health systems, with emphasis on coordination and accountability.

Way Forward:

• • • India’s road safety challenge is primarily systemic rather than scheme-deficient.
    • Strengthening engineering quality, enforcement, and emergency response can prevent a significant number of fatalities.
    • These measures align with the Stockholm Declaration (2020) target to halve road traffic deaths by 2030.

Conclusion:

The concentration of road accidents in specific districts and locations provides a clear opportunity for targeted interventions. Road safety requires a holistic and integrated approach, combining infrastructure improvements, effective policing, responsive emergency services, and sustained public awareness, rather than fragmented measures.