India world No 1 in road deaths
Poor Record: 13 Die Every Hour, 1.14 Lakh A Year ……..Dipak Kumar Dash
New Delhi: In a dubious distinction for the country, the World Health Organization has revealed in its first ever Global Status Report on Road Safety that more people die in road accidents in India than anywhere else in the world, including the more populous China.
Calling road fatalities an epidemic that will become the worlds fifth biggest killer by 2030, the report said while the rich nations had been able to lower their death rates, these were sharply on the rise in the third world. It said 90% of deaths on worlds roads occur in low and middle-income countries (21.5 and 19.5 per lakh of population, respectively) though they have just 48% of all registered vehicles.
The statistics for India are chilling. At least 13 people die every hour to road accidents in the country, the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveals. In 2007, 1.14 lakh people in India lost their lives in road mishapsthats significantly higher than the 2006 road death figures in China, 89,455.
Road deaths in India registered a sharp 6.1% rise between 2006 and 2007. However, road safety experts say that the real numbers could be higher since many of these accident cases are not even reported. There is no estimate of how many injured in road accidents die a few hours or days after the accident, points out Rohit Baluja, member of the UN Road Safety Collaboration and Commission of Global Road Safety representing Asia.
The report, based on 2006 and 2007 statistics collected from 178 participating countries, said globally over 1.2 people die in road accidents every year and 20-25 million people suffer non-fatal injuries.
Baluja said both central and state governments, while pushing for construction of more highways and roads, were doing precious little to make them safe. We dont have scientific traffic engineering which forms the basis of road safety improvement practiced in US and UK since 1930s. This still remains a matter of consultancy in India as we are yet to have our own traffic engineering wings, Baluja adds.
In fact, the report shows while only 3,298 people died in road accidents in UK in 2006, in case of US it was 42,642.
A TOLL TOO HIGH
* 1,14,590 people died in road accidents in India (2007), highest in world. Thats 13 deaths every hour
* 89,455 people died in road accidents in China (2006), the second highest in world
A TOLL TOO HIGH
* 1,14,590 people died in road accidents in India (2007), highest in world. Thats 13 deaths every hour
* 89,455 people died in road accidents in China (2006), the second highest in world
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* Over 1.2 million die each year on worlds roads
* Sweden, Japan & Australia have safest roads with fatality rates between 3.4 and 5.4 deaths per 1 lakh
* Over 90% of worlds road fatalities are in low- and middle-income countries, which have only 48% of worlds registered vehicles
* 50% deaths are of pedestrians, cyclists and bikers
* Key causes for accident deaths: Speeding; drinkdriving; no helmet, seat-belt and child restraints
KILLER STATES Road Deaths in 000
Andhra Pradesh – 13.7
Maharashtra – 13.7
Uttar Pradesh – 12.5
Tamil Nadu – 12.0
Speed kills: Most deaths in Andhra, Maharashtra
New Delhi: The WHOs Global Status Report on Road Safety pointed to speeding, drinking-driving and low use of helmets, seat belts and child restraints in vehicles as the main contributing factors to deaths across the globe. In 2004, road accidents were the top ninth cause of death.
An increase in average speed is directly related to both the likelihood of a crash occurring and to the severity of crash consequences. A 5% increase in average speed leads to an approximately 10% increase in crashes that cause injuries and a 20% increase in fatal crashes. Zones of 30 kmph can reduce crash risk and injury severity and are recommended in areas where vulnerable road users are particularly at risk, it says.
Significantly, the report says that only 29% countries have managed to reduce the speed in urban areas and 10% have been effective in managing it. Traffic calming measures are lacking in areas where traffic segregation does not happen, the report said. This is one of the major worries in our case. The roles and responsibilities of agencies managing traffic is not defined, Rohit Baluja, an Asian representative of the WHO panel, said.
Meanwhile, an analysis of the NCRB report points to Andhra having the highest share of deaths due to road accidents (12%), followed by Maharashtra and UP (11% each). Interestingly, contrary to the popular view of trucks/lorries causing the most road accident deaths, the report shows that a maximum of 23,991 occupants of these vehicles lost their lives. This was followed by occupants of two-wheelers. To curb what it calls an epidemic of road accident deaths, WHO suggests setting speed limits that reflect the function of individual roads,passing and strictly imposing a drunk-driving law, making use of helmets mandatory, seat belts must in all vehicles and enforcement of child restraint laws.