1

Safety measures for Controlling Road Accident

Injuries and Fatality
Manisha Minesh Desai.
ME student, Transportation engg. Civil Engg Dept.
L.D. College of engg. Aahmedabad-15,Gujarat,India..
Email:manimin1964@yahoo.co.in
Guide: Prof.A.K.Patel
Lecturer in civil engineering, Government polytechnic,
Ahmedabad-15, Gujarat, India.
Email:ashutech.asp@gmail.com
Abstract: Road transport is the backbone of modern society and
economy. We all are dependent on road transport. It is difficult
to imagine life without it. Tremendous growth of both road
network & road traffic in India brought the problem of road
accidents resulting in injury and fatalities to road users. India
was number 9 killer in the year 1990 in the world is expected to
emerge number 3 killer by year 2020 in road accident. Although
road transport safety is a worldwide problem but it is more
severe in India. India needs to improve road safety measures to
reduce road accidents.
I. INTRODUCTION
Transportation network is a heart of a nation and transport
services are considered as growth engine of economy. More
the lengths of roads, more the prosperity of the nation. The
prosperity brigades of a nation normally comprise of
intelligentsia, hard labor, infrastructures available and lastly
smooth functioning of its roads. However, with the positive
qualities, the by-product of transportation is pollution and
accidents. As per data registered by the World Health
organization, nearly 12 lakhs people are known to die each
year in road accidents globally out of which more than 83,000
people are killed in India while roughly 5 times of this number
(about 4 lakhs) are seriously injured in India. It means, we kill
about 230 people and injure about 1100 every day on Indian
roads. Out of this, about 25-30% are pedestrians, 15-20%
children under 15 years of age. In India, the total cost of losses
due to road accidents are in the range of Rs. 400- 500 crores a
day. The estimated cost includes compensation, asset loss,
time and energy spent on police, hospital and court cases etc
[1]. But we can not measure these sufferings in terms of
money. The loss to the nation due to the ever-increasing
accidents is untold, eating into the economics of the
nation.
Road safety has become a major concern for the
regulatory authorities in India today. Indian road safety
situation is ten times worse when compared to the developed
countries of the world, which leaves much to be done in the
field of Road Safety Management. Road safety is defined as
the absence of crashes, injuries and fatalities. The term
"safety" implies that there are no occurrences of accidents.
Although undesirable, crashes and fatalities are inevitable
incidents of the transportation system. The road transportation
is cursed with road accidents. A substantial accident risk is
always present in the development of transport facilities. Road
crashes are a growing worldwide problem. The road systems
all over the world are getting more and more congested and
unsafe day by day. Road Traffic Accident (RTA) is normally
defined as "accident which takes place on the road between
two or more objects, one of which must be any kind of a
moving vehicle." Road traffic accidents can be called as
perennial disaster, as they have claimed far more lives than
any of the natural disasters. "Accidents are not natural but they
are caused," is a common saying in the area of traffic safety.
Road safety status is the reflection of traffic culture and it is
extremely poor in India.
II. INDIANSCENERIOOF ROADACCIDENT
Road accidents statistics of India is given in Table-1 in
Annexure.
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
1970 1980 1990 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
YEARS
N
O

O
F

A
C
C
I
D
E
N
T
TOTAL NO OF PERSON KILLED
TOTAL NO OF PERSON INJURED
TOTAL ACCIDENT
Fig-1.1 Road Accident statistics in India.
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From data graph is developed which shows increasing trend of
road accidents. Every hour, 13 people die due to road
accidents, the highest in the world. Every 10th person who
dies in road accidents is an Indian. Road fatalities in India
have been rising at the rate of 8 per cent a year and,
paradoxically, have only increased even as massive amounts
of money have been pumped into improving roads and adding
new highways, flyovers and expressways [2].
In India, it's a tragic conundrum; the better the road,
the faster the traffic will go, but with lax enforcement, few
rules and safety factors, it only leads to more deaths. One
study showed that a 10 per cent increase in speed leads to a 30
per cent increase in road accident fatalities. A leading cause of
road deaths is drunk drivers. Other factors that lead to the high
incidence of road accidents: poor traffic management, bad
roads, total lack of observance of traffic rules, no legal
deterrents, corrupt traffic police, jaywalking pedestrians and a
deadly mix of slow and fast-moving traffic, including the fact
that a sizable number of fatalities due to road accidents is
avoidable for want of better road safety management and
availability of prompt medical help.
The fact is that there are too many vehicles on our
roads which are built without any foresight or care for future
projection of traffic volumes. Vehicular traffic in India is
growing at the rate of 10 per cent per year and still the
government and local agencies responsible for road safety and
traffic management have been dangerously tardy in their
response [3].
III. ACCIDENT SCENARIO INGUJARAT
Gujarat is one of the most industrially developed and
agriculturally advanced state of India. The population of
Gujarat has increased from 4.13 crores in 1991 and
5.06 crores in 2001 and 6.95 crores in 2010.The road
length in Gujarat has increased from 67065 kms in 1991
to 73619 kms In 2001. With increase in road length, the
total numbers of registered vehicles in Gujarat has
increased from 375683 in 1981 to 850000 in 2010.
Gujarat state is having a vehicle ownership rate of 100.6
motor vehicles per 1000 persons in 2001, as against the
average annual vehicle ownership of 53.5 motor
vehicles per 1000 persons as per statistics pertaining to
2001. There is an increase in number of accidents from
2103 in the year 1961 to 32034 in the year 2009 [4].
The rate of accidents in Gujarat is 72.4 accidents per 10000
vehicles. The road accidents statistics of Gujarat for last
ten years is shown in annexure in table-2. From the table
it is seen that total accident has been maximum in the
year 1999 and then it started to fluctuate. Fig.2 shows
that maximum and minimum accidents in the year 1999
and 2003 respectively. Maximum fatal Accident was
happened in the year 2003. A summary of the Road
accidents statistics of Gujarat is given in Table-2. [5] From
these data graph of road accident statistics are developed. It
shows the increasing trend of accidents in Gujarat in Fig-1.2.
Over 5,200 people die in road accidents in Gujarat
every year, while average number of those was getting injured
in mishap is a little over 32,800.
The number keeps increasing every year, for example a
whopping 5,197 people lost their lives in road mishaps in
2007. With the sale of vehicles in the state showing an upward
graph, one would expect more pressure on road traffic. The
present situation does not inspire much hope for future. The
number of deaths caused by road mishaps in Gujarat is 10 to
15 times higher than the average in developed countries.
Statistics for the last few years reveal a scary picture. It shows
the number of accidents is on the rise.
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
N
o

o
f

A
c
c
i
d
e
n
t
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Year
Road accident statics of Gujarat from the year
2000 to 2009
Fatal Total accidents
Fig-1.2 Road Accident statistics in Gujarat
In 2007, around 34,000 road accidents were registered by
Gujarat police. The number will go up significantly if taken
into account the cases which are not reported to police. On an
average, 93 road accidents occur in Gujarat everyday, killing
17 and injuring about 98 people. More disturbingly, 30 per
cent of the road mishap victims are below the age of 30 years
[5].
IV. ROADSAFETYPOLICYAT INDIALEVEL
Road safety has become a major concern for the regulatory
authorities in India today. Indian road safety situation is ten
times worse when compared to the developed countries of the
world, which leaves much to be done in the field of Road
Safety Management. Road safety is defined as the absence of
crashes, injuries and fatalities. The term "safety" implies that
there are no occurrences of accidents. Although undesirable,
crashes and fatalities are inevitable incidents of the
transportation system. The road transportation is cursed with
road accidents. A substantial accident risk is always present in
the development of transport facilities. Road crashes are a
growing worldwide problem. The road systems all over the
world are getting more and more congested and unsafe day by
day. Road Traffic Accident (RTA) is normally defined as
accident which takes place on the road between two or more
objects, one of which must be any kind of a moving vehicle.
Road traffic accidents can be called as perennial disaster, as
they have claimed far more lives than any of the natural
National Conference on Recent Trends in Engineering & Technology
13-14 May 2011 B.V.M. Engineering College, V.V.Nagar,Gujarat,India
3
disasters. "Accidents are not natural but they are caused," is a
common saying in the area of traffic safety. Road safety status
is the reflection of traffic culture and it is extremely poor in
India [6].
Theoretical models suggest that the number of fatalities in
India is not likely to start to decline for many years to come
unless new policies are implemented. Based on the present
analysis, the following six areas were identified as having
potential for substantially reducing fatalities in India:
(1) pedestrians and other non-motorist in urban areas, (2)
pedestrians, other non-motorists, and slow vehicles on
highways, (3) motorcycles and small cars in urban areas, (4)
over-involvement of trucks and buses, (5) nighttime driving,
and (6) wrong-way drivers on divided highways[7].
National Road Safety Council (NRSC) is the apex body for
road safety established under Section 215 of MV Act, 1988. It
gives directions on implementation of road safety policies.
Department of Road Transport and Highways,
Government of India is the nodal agency for road safety in
the country.
A Road Safety Policy prepared by the Ministry in the year
1992 and adopted by the National Road Safety Council in
1994 contained the following:
Classification of the causes of accidents and
preventive action in terms of vehicle, driver, and
engineering factors.
List of safety features for vehicle design (e.g. safety
belt, air bags, collapsible steering, braking
performance etc).
Fitness certification and maintenance of vehicles.
Proper training and effective licensing for drivers.
Road design and geometric improvements to
compensate for inadequacies of road users.
Warning signs for road users.
Accident black spot investigation and rectification
through road design.
Design of road junctions,
Design of roads in built up and residential areas,
etc.
Traffic guidance, road signs, speed limit posts, and
other traffic control devices.
Road pavement markings, construction of
footpaths/cycle tracks, bus bays, truck parking
complexes, and other way side amenities, etc.
Traffic education and campaign on traffic discipline
inclusion of traffic education in school
curriculum, promotion of defensive driving, etc.
Enforcement of maximum speed limits, and
campaign on helmet use and seat belt use, curbing
alcohol consumption among drivers, etc.
Emergency medical service with emphasis on
saving the lives of victims etc.
The policy aimed at a targeted reduction in the accidents [8].
V. ROADSAFETYPOLICYAT GUJARAT LEVEL
The Government of India has launched a road safety
initiative in collaboration with the World Bank to reduce the
high and increasing number of deaths and serious injuries on
Indian roads. The release said the project, which will
implement the International Road Assessment Programme
(iRAP), will assist the Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways and State Public Works Departments in Assam,
Gujarat and Karnataka to improve road safety on 3,000 km of
high-risk roads. In Gujarat Highly-placed sources in the state
government said, The new policy aims to address three
important issues in road safety - road safety education
(awareness), road engineering and effective enforcement of
motor vehicle laws. Under the new policy, road safety course
will be introduced at school level under which the students
will be taught road safety issues and also the punishment for
violation of the safety norms. The government will also
promote formation of road safety institute and agencies in
public private partnership (PPP) model.
Non-government organisations (NGOs) will also be
encouraged to conduct road safety programmes like training of
school van drivers, teachers, students and parents. Sources
said the government is also planning to make the existing
motor vehicle act stricter and introduce new laws or rule for
better enforcement of the existing rules such as fitness rules
and use of reflectors [9].
The government will also have major focus on road
engineering. Many accidents occur due to faulty designs of the
roads. Government will have more emphasis on road designs
which can minimize the possibility of road accidents, it
added.
The different states are compared in terms of their
fatalities indices. Fatality index is represented as,
Fatality index (FI.) = (Fatalities/ No. Of casualties) *100 %
All India level the fatality index is 17% which is
comparatively more than other developing countries
which remain in between 4 to 5%. For Gujarat state the
Fatality Index is 13.4% which is higher than average 4%.
Table-3 gives State wise Fatality Index.
VI. KEYROADSAFETYPROBLEMS
Driver Related
Driver training and testing
Few years ago, statistics indicated that more than one-third of
the truck drivers either did not have normal vision or were
color blinded. Our experience based on eye tests done by us -
so far indicates that the similar situation still persists. Our
company assessment indicates that drivers available in the
market and holding driving licenses are improperly trained.
Most of them are not aware of the defensive driving
techniques and dynamics of the moving vehicle.
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Driver behavior
Some people behave unsafely, and deliberately ignore safety
rules. They think they are smart drivers and accidents would
not happen to them. Many want to reach to their destinations
too quickly under time pressure irrespective of road condition
and traffic density. People take excessive risks in overtaking
or tail gating. Every day, one can observe thousands of near
miss incidents happening around and when it happens, it kills
many innocent people also every day.
Over Speeding
Most of the vehicles and roads are designed for a particular
speed. With increasing urbanisation, vehicle density on the
roads has been increasing exponentially. In such
circumstances, it is very difficult to stop a speeding vehicle
without hitting someone. A 80 Km/hr speed means, one
cannot stop the vehicle in less than 27 meter distance even
with full brakes on. Problem is more severe with heavy
vehicles.
Driver Errors
Overtaking at a wrong place, turning abruptly or stopping
without prior signaling, which can cause collision with the
vehicle following; driving fast through villages on road sides,
exceeding the speed limit; falling asleep at the wheel,
overturning due to going round a curve at excessive speed,
driving while intoxicated etc.
Drugs / Alcohol consumption
Fatal accident rate is high particularly during night times.
There are not enough instruments to spot, monitor and punish
drivers on consumption of alcohol and drugs.
Impaired drivers: fatigue
Driving continuously without taking adequate rest results in
driver sleeping on the wheels.
Too Many Young drivers
Statistics shows that the drivers younger than 21 years tend to
drive too fast and too rash. Most of the accidents also happen
to these very young age people.
Vehicle Related
Defects in vehicles
Many vehicles are not roadworthy. Effectiveness of Brakes,
tyre condition, headlights, signaling and parking lights, loose
electrical connections, handbrakes, lack of side and rear
mirrors are some of the common defects widely seen. These
may look minor defects but many major accidents have been
happened due to these defects.
Environment around the road
Error of drivers of other vehicles like bullock carts, tractor
trolleys, cycles, rickshaw, joy walking, pedestrians, school
children cattle or dogs etc. running onto roads being run over.
Roads Related Defects
Improper, inadequate road construction, potholes, Signal
failures, lack of road signs etc. Studies of accidents registered
with the police indicate that the number of accidents due to
this reason is around 10% of the total accidents. Even allowing
for some errors in analysis of reasons for accidents, the figure
will not exceed 20%.
Dangerous road locations
In each road, there are certain sections, where a number of
accidents of the same type happen too often. To warn drivers,
about these black spots, suitable road signs are required to be
placed at regular intervals. It helps in driver's judgment.
Pedestrians
Lack of pedestrian walkways, overhead / underground
crossings at busy roads, short cuts by pedestrians, drivers
behavior by not allowing pedestrians to cross first are some of
the reasons.
Poor Rescue systems
(Communications, First Aid, ambulances, hospital facilities)
As we all know, most of the fatalities occur due to absence of
Basic and timely first aid care. Either people don't know the
use of first aid or they don't apply it due to perceived
complications with police and law. Also, there are delays in
getting medical care [9].
VII. PLANTOSTOP KILLINGONOUR ROADS
If we are determined, we can stop killing on the roads. We
all play a role whether it is government, Private sector,
industry; Media press TV, citizens, parents, teachers, and
every one. We all can do it by:
Making people, our children staff and contractors
aware of rules. Reminding them too often about
dangers of the road
Learning defensive driving techniques
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By Encouragement and appreciation to good drivers
By strict enforcement of traffic rules
Sound design and maintenance of vehicles and roads
Evaluation/adjustment to road conditions
VIII. CONCLUSION
It is possible to reduce road accident rate and severity by
adopting and enforcing proper safety measures. Health of
the Nation is more important than the wealth of the
Nation. Road safety is a major public health concern. So
attention must be given on Road safety measures. Strict
implementation of road safety measures reduces road
accident injuries and fatality.
REFERENCES
[1] The World Health Report: Health Systems Improving
Performance (2000). World Health Organization, Geneva.
[2] Accidental deaths and suicides in India 2000. 1-178. 2002. New
Delhi, National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home
Afffairs.
[3] Mohan D. The road ahead: Traffic injuries and fatalities in India.
Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme.
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 2004.
[4] Dinesh Mohan, Geetam Tiwari. Mobility, Environment and
safety in Megacities - Dealing with a Complex Future. IATSS
Research 2000; 24(1):39-46.
[5] Statistical abstract of Gujarat state, Directorate of Economics &
Statistics, Government of Gujarat Gandhinagar.
[6] Road accident Prevention steps in Gujarat Asian Development
Bank, Road Safety Guidelines for the Asia and Pacific Region,
Asian Development Bank, Manila, 199.
[7] Road safety in India : Challenges and Opportunities by Dinesh
Mohan, Omer Tsimhoni, Michael Sivak, Michael J. Flannagan
The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2150 U.S.A. Report No. UMTRI-
2009-1 January 2009.
[8] Road safety IN INDIA By S.K. Mishra, Director (Road
Transport) Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways,
Govt. of India.
[9] 26TH ANNUAL SAFETY CONFERENCE-2004 in Gujarat
safety council. Safety management in road transport.
.
ANNEXURE
Table-1 Road accident statistics of India
year Total no.
of road
accidents
Total
no. of
Persons
killed
Total
no. of
Persons
injured
Total no. of
Registered
motor
vehicles
(thousands)
No. of
accidents
per
10000
vehicles
No. of
Persons
killed per
10000
vehicles
No. of
accidents
per
100000
population
No. of
Persons
killed per
100000
population
1970 114100 14500 70100 1401 814.42 103.50 21.20 2.70
1980 153200 24000 109100 4521 338.86 53.09 22.80 3.60
1990 282600 54100 244100 19152 147.56 28.25 33.80 6.50
2000 391449 78911 399300 48857 80.12 16.15 38.60 7.80
2001 405637 80888 405200 54991 73.76 14.71 39.30 7.80
2002 407497 84674 408700 58924 69.16 14.37 38.80 8.10
2003 406726 85998 435100 67007 60.70 12.83 38.10 8.10
2004 429910 92618 464600 72718 59.12 12.74 39.80 8.60
2005 439255 94968 465282 81502 53.90 11.65 39.90 8.60
2006 460920 105749 496481 89618 51.40 11.79 41.40 9.50
2007 479216 114444 513340 98000 48.90 11.67 42.40 10.10
Source: http://morth.nic.in; Transportation Research Wing, Ministry of Road transport and Highways,
Road Accidents in India 2007.
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Table-2: Road Accidents statistics of Gujarat from the year (2000 To 2009)
Number of Accidents
Year Fatal Grievous Minor injury Non injury Total accidents
2000 4539 7569 16747 7174 36029
2001 4478 6629 15394 6322 32823
2002 4469 6719 14843 5704 31735
2003 4335 6694 14455 4020 29504
2004 4671 6727 14754 4478 30630
2005 4922 6785 14594 4187 30488
2006 4861 6875 15935 4827 32498
2007 5197 6946 15384 5322 32849
2008 5590 6910 14400 4502 31402
2009 6112 6836 13983 4103 31034
Table-3: State wise Fatality indices
Sr.
No.
State Fatality index Sr.
No.
State Fatality index
1 Andhra Pradesh 21.2 17 Nagaland 26.3
2 Arunachal Pradesh 22.2 18 Orissa 17.2
3 Assam 22.0 19 Punjab 47.4
4 Bihar 41.7 20 Rajasthan 20.0
5 Goa 9.4 21 Sikkim 13.9
6 Gujarat 13.4 22 Tamilnadu 18.3
7 Haryana 29.0 23 Tripura 15.2
8 Himachal Pradesh 12.6 24 Uttarpradesh 37.6
9 Jammu and Kashmir 11.6 25 West Bangal 31.1
10 Karnataka 12.2 26 Andaman and Nicobar Island 6.2
11 Kerala 4.9 27 Chandigarh 25.6
12 Madhya Pradesh 14.5 28 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 15.8
13 Maharashtra 14.0 29 Div and Daman -
14 Manipur 12.3 30 Delhi 17.4
15 Meghalaya 18.8 31 Lakshdweep 0.0
16 Mizoram 21.1 32 Pondicherry 11.0
(Source: I.J.T.M., C.I.R.T., Vol. 21, July-2004)
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National Conference on Recent Trends in Engineering & Technology
13-14 May 2011 B.V.M. Engineering College, V.V.Nagar,Gujarat,India
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National Conference on Recent Trends in Engineering & Technology
13-14 May 2011 B.V.M. Engineering College, V.V.Nagar,Gujarat,India