Editorial: Road safety still neglected

One of the most distressing news reports relates to fatal accidents on the country’s highways, and in many instances, entire families are wiped out.

Now, a Supreme Court bench has issued guidelines to be followed across the country to improve road safety and prevent the loss of precious lives. Even though expressways account for a mere 2% of the total road network, they account for nearly 30% of fatalities. India takes pride in building fancy, high-speed, multi-lane expressways, with controlled access, divided carriageways and guardrails. The fiercely competitive automotive industry, on the other hand, is producing high-speed vehicles. This lethal combination is leading to preventable accidents and deaths.

Recently, the Supreme Court has identified two major reasons for accidents and tried to address them. Irresponsible, indiscriminate and wrong parking of heavy vehicles on high-speed roads causes rear-end collisions, and they become even more dangerous when visibility is low, as it happens at night or in foggy conditions. The court directed the authorities concerned to ensure that vehicles are parked only at designated bays or other authorised facilities. The second problem was unauthorised highway structures such as eateries, dhabas and other commercial establishments along the highways. These structures either directly obstruct the path of vehicles or cause vehicles to slow down, swerve or change direction, thus disrupting the flow of traffic.

The court directed the district authorities to prepare standard operating procedures for coordinated patrol of the highways and ensure compliance within two months. It is going to be a formidable and challenging task, but when push comes to shove, there is a possibility of getting it started. While authorities tend to blame drivers for wrongly parking vehicles on highways, the question that needs to be asked is whether the required designated parking areas are available and whether information is provided to road users. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) claims to have an Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) in place.

A couple of years ago, it upgraded it by incorporating cutting-edge AI technology. The new-age system will have the capability to detect incidents or violations of safety rules. It would, in turn, alert route patrol vehicles in case of violations and ambulances in the unfortunate event of an accident. To be effective, these state-of-the-art cameras have to be installed every 10 km for saturated or comprehensive coverage. They will be complemented by the upgraded Traffic Monitoring Camera System (TMCS), which is capable of automated detection of accidents and stalled vehicles. The system meets national standards and requirements, but implementation leaves much to be desired.

The Supreme Court has been quite proactive in nudging authorities to improve road safety. Last October, another bench too issued directions relating to the safety of two-wheeler riders and pedestrians. In 2014, it also constituted a high-level Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety.

The larger question, however, relates to poor planning and design, the use of substandard materials, and poor maintenance, despite collecting tolls and other charges beyond reasonable timeframes. It is well known that corruption is rampant in road construction and among enforcement officials such as RTO officials, police and other safety staff. Though education and awareness among road users and behavioural change are important, authorities should prioritise addressing the systemic issues and root causes relating to engineering, enforcement and governance.