“Transform India With Narendra Modi”

Road Safety in India – Issues, Root Causes and Solutions
A recent survey said that an Indian dies in a road accident every 3 minutes. With over 5 lakh accidents reported in 2012, it is critical that we work in a focused manner to improve Road Safety in India. The 160,000+ strong “Transform India with Narendra Modi” online community has come together to collectively identify the key issues, root causes and solutions for the Road Safety in India and the community expects that the Government will work towards implementing the identified solutions.

Issues Identified:
1. Too many vehicles on road
2. Most of the road signs are covered with posters and mud
3. Condition of roads is bad
4. Traffic lights malfunction too often
5. People don’t follow traffic rules
6. Cars are parked in no-parking areas
7. Lane driving not followed
8. Most of the accidents occur due to heavy vehicles rash and reckless driving on road
9. No properly designed footpaths for pedestrians
10. No standard measurements for speed-breakers
11. Not enough foot-over-bridges and zebra crossings to cross the roads
12. Over speeding causes a lot of accidents
13. Overloading of passenger and goods vehicles is also a big issue
14. Corruption at the RTO for issuing driving licence
15. Digging on rode done by public departments
16. Roads are not wide enough
17. Drunk driving
18. Poor control on the animals which frequently trespass the roads
19. Underage driving
20. Heavy vehicles ply on the roads during no entry timings
21. Heavy vehicles do not drive in the designated lane on the left
22. Driving with headlights on high beam
23. Overcrowding of the city busses
24. People drive while taking on mobile phone
25. Bikers ride on the footpath to beat traffic
26. Rickshaws cause a lot of accidents
27. Tripling on two wheelers
28. No dividers in the middle of the roads
29. People use the rescue lane for over taking
30. No fencing along the highways
31. Dedicated cycling paths missing

Root Causes Identified:
1. No Government cap on number of new vehicles allowed on road per month/ per year
2. Non enforcement of existing laws
3. Lot of people don’t even understand half of the road signs since they are not educated on it
4. People have a ‘me first’ mentality on roads
5. Drivers don’t respect the pedestrians
6. Parents promote underage driving
7. Cycling not a priority for the Government and not taken into planning while designing the roads
8. Zebra crossings are not clearly defined
9. Footpaths are occupied by street vendors
10. Pedestrian signals don’t work properly on traffic signals
11. Encroachment along the road by parked cars leaves less space for the drivers
12. No power backup for traffic signals
13. Meagre fines for violating traffic rules
14. Easy to bribe and get a driving license from the RTO
15. Lethargic public transport across the country
16. Roads are not maintained properly, especially during the monsoon season
17. The most common driving rules or norms are not clearly taught or clearly learnt
18. Ignorance of weather conditions and terrain while driving
19. Loud music inside air-conditioned cars. Drivers do not hear the warning horns
20. Repeated offenders get free by bribing
21. Driving schools don’t teach the basic road rules
22. No street lights on a lot of busy streets

Solutions Identified:
1. Government should put a cap on the number of vehicles that are allowed on road in a month/year
2. Road signs should be illuminated and clearly visible
3. A separate department should make sure that the roads are in prime condition across the year
4. There should be 100% power backup for traffic signals
5. Fine for traffic violations should be increased by many folds
6. Lane driving should be strictly advocated
7. Rash and reckless drivers should be stripped off their driving licences
8. Encroachment free footpaths should be designed for pedestrians
9. Dedicated lanes should be developed for cyclists
10. Speed breakers across the country should have the standard dimensions
11. Drivers should respect the pedestrians and allow them to cross the roads
12. Strict action should be taken against traffic police officers caught taking bribes
13. An applicant should go through s rigorous test before he gets a driving license
14. Fences should be made along the highways to prevent stray animals from getting on to the roads
15. Massive public campaigns should be done to create awareness about road rules
16. The insurance premium of the vehicles should be linked to the number of traffic violations during the year
17. Traffic cameras should be installed across the cities to monitor traffic movement
18. Install boom barriers on signals to avoid motorists skipping signals
19. People possessing more than 2 cars should be taxed (road tax) heavily (like as it is done in Singapore)
20. Driving on high beam should attract penalty
21. Street lights should have across-night power backup
22. Driving schools to be regularised, instructors to should be trained, pass thru a strict certification course and then only allowed to train
23. Honking habits should be reduced to avoid sound pollutions & irritations by increasing No Honking zones
24. There should be no difference in traffic rules for men and women
25. More multilevel parking spaces should be developed in cities
26. High decibel horns should be banned
27. Failure to pay fine on time should result in cancellation of license
28. Bus drivers should be penalized for stopping in the middle of roads for passengers to get off
29. Implement mandatory rest hours for commercial vehicle drivers
30. The contractor who does not meet the quality standards should be black listed and not awarded PWD works anymore

Road Safety in India – Some Citizen posts and comments:
1. Driver awareness with strict and quick fines is one remedy. Adequate parking space is another issue which needs to be addressed. Man-pulled rickshaw, carts and vehicles capable of 100 plus KMPH on the NH, its nightmare. May be speed lanes is an answer. Keep manual/animal/slow moving vehicles into confined area. Streets serving colonies etc. but not on NH. Dividers at heavy traffic joints/areas will ensure own lane driving. Effective traffic police with no interference by netas - UP is a nightmare for policemen. No red lights followed, any checking leads to assault on these poor traffic managers – Rajinder Singh

2. Many of the private companies collecting tolls on national highways and state highways cut corners and don’t maintain the road properly. Because of which some of the highways have high frequency of road accidents – Neetesh Thakur

3. Remove all advertisement and political hording/banners from the road and highway – Manoj Vernekar

4. Most of the traffic violations are done by Taxi drivers , bus drivers .Strong traffic sense needs to be inculcated within drivers community through campaign and trainings – Pratyush Singh

5. Fines for traffic violation should be carefully decided. High fines lead to corruption while low fines make violation a habit. If fines are low many people prefer to pay to government rather than police. However, the most severe punishment could be asking a person to stop for 10-15 minutes on road – Rajiv Sharma

6. High decibel horns should be fined and person caught selling these horns should also be punished – Rajiv Sharma

7. Traffic police should concentrate on Drink Driving and Traffic violations India should be part of Global road safety programs and in all the states road safety interventions should start. Counsellors should be appointed in RTO office – Mohan Manukonda

8. Install cameras for fining any breaking of signals, lane cutting, keeping vehicle ahead of zebra crossing at traffic signal, heavy vehicles monitoring. This should be supported by automatic penalty requests generated by computer and failure to pay fine to ensure license cancellation beyond three such offences. Thorough integration of fining systems to collection and linking to licenses would ensure strict compliance and elimination of corruption – Vaibhav Sanghavi

9. Traffic police needs to be held responsible and accountable - for citizens adherence of these above measures on ensuring responsible road driving in every road in the country without exception – Bawa Grover

10. It is vital to heavily penalize two-wheeler drivers who ride on pavements – Dr. Prema Sheshadri

11. Proper footpaths and cycle tracks as in the European countries, must be made and govt. must take the responsibility to provide credible and safe public transport likemetros in big cities and trams in smaller ones so that the no of private vehicles could be reduced and any person hitting, injuring and killing others in roads must be given very severe and swift punishment – Rakesh Agrawal

12. Traffic rules should be strictly enforced with cameras. Considerations to safety, avoiding honking in school, hospital, residential zones. The volume in honking should not be allowed more than particular level decibel – Meenakshi Balasubramanian

13. The main point that has been missed out is the condition of the road has to be monitored and maintained in prime condition. Unfortunately, the roads are built in a nonstandard form with poor quality material and finish – Dipak Himatsingka

14. In my opinion, all the licenses issued should be revamped and every individual should undergo online test. Phase wise city/state wise etc. should be planned. People with any past history on accidents must not get renewals and should be given strict penalties and counselling sessions – Smita Macchar

15. India has a Road Research Institute that has been in existence for more than 75 years. Impact of their research in to area specific traffic volume guided road design is yet to reflect in Indian Road construction methods – Subodh Kumar

16. Foot over bridges or underground pedestrian crossings should be developed wherever possible/required and pedestrians should also be punished for crossing the highways wherever they like – Satyamurthy

17. A large number of aged vehicles right from 2 wheelers to 10 wheelers are seen on the roads. Old vehicles are not passed for ROAD WORTHINESS every year honestly. Such vehicles are prone to more accidents and emit excessive air pollution – K. C. Raina

18. Concrete roads may be slightly expensive in terms of initial cost, but highly economical in terms maintenance, so in the long run, concrete roads turn out be better option. Well-designed concrete roads can lost 20 years with almost negligible maintenance – Himesh Shivappa

19. This is all true but all should be electronically done otherwise bribe will increase – Somashekhar

20. People who park their unused cars on the roadside for days should pay very hefty parking fee – Anjana Saxena