India Faces Road Safety Crisis as Fatalities Surge

With India's roads being among the deadliest globally, human behavior, poor infrastructure, and inadequate enforcement contribute significantly to the growing number of road fatalities, leading to urgent calls for improvement in road safety measures.

India is confronting a severe road safety crisis, highlighted by a staggering statistic: in 2023 alone, over 480,000 road accidents resulted in more than 172,000 deaths. This pressing issue has garnered attention with daily reports depicting horrifying incidents on the roads, such as buses tumbling down gorges and vehicles colliding due to reckless driving or lack of safety measures.

On average, nearly one life is lost every three minutes on Indian roads. During a road safety event in December, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari revealed grim figures, including the deaths of 10,000 children and 35,000 pedestrians within the year. Over-speeding emerged as the leading cause of fatalities, with many deaths attributed to the absence of basic safety practices—54,000 individuals died for not wearing helmets, while 16,000 lost their lives due to not fastening their seatbelts. Other contributing factors included driving without a valid license and vehicle overloading.

India's road landscape is exacerbated by chaotic traffic, with an array of users, including pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and animal-drawn carts, competing for space. Despite government efforts to improve safety, experts argue that deep-rooted issues stem from inadequate infrastructure, ineffective legal enforcement, and defective civil engineering practices.

Gadkari pointed out that many accidents arise from a lack of respect for the law, emphasizing the need for behavioral change among drivers. Yet, he also acknowledged critical infrastructural deficiencies, such as subpar road design and insufficient signage, that contribute to the alarming accident rates. Reports from road safety audits have revealed problematic features like ill-placed crash barriers and poorly designed road medians that jeopardize driver safety.

India boasts the second-largest road network globally, covering over 6.6 million kilometers. Despite Minister Gadkari's ambitious plan to upgrade 25,000 kilometers of two-lane highways to four lanes, experts express skepticism. They argue that merely widening roads could lead to increased speeds—aggravating risks for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

To tackle this escalating crisis, the government has proposed a comprehensive strategy focusing on five essential aspects: road engineering, vehicle safety measures, education, law enforcement, and emergency response care. Promoting timely medical assistance could have potentially halved road crash fatalities, according to reports.

While infrastructure expansion is essential for India's growth, it must not compromise pedestrian safety or exacerbate existing hazards. Understanding how to design safer roads requires continuous evaluation and modification based on real-world outcomes to ensure that the growth of infrastructure aligns with the safety of all road users.