(a) whether a large number of persons die in India due to road accidents as compared to other countries of the world;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
(c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken to scale down casualties as a result of road accidents?
THE MINISTER OF SHIPPING, ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI T.R. BAALU)
(a) to (c) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (c) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 423 FOR ANSWER ON 23.4.2008 ASKED BY SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB AND SHRI GIRDHARI LAL BHARGAVA REGARDING ROAD ACCIDENTS.
(a)&(b) Road accidents and fatalities are caused by a number of factors such as driver’s fault, mechanical defects in the vehicles, fault of pedestrians, bad road, bad weather etc.
As per the details available, in the year 2005, the total number of road accident related deaths in India was high as compared to other countries of the world except China. During the year 2005, China reported 98,738 deaths as compared with 94,968 deaths in India due to road accidents. However, the number of road accident deaths per one lakh population was 8.6 in India in 2005 while this figure ranged between 1.82 to 144.98 in case of some other countries of the world.
(c) The safety of road users is primarily the responsibility of the concerned State Government. However, this Department has taken several steps to improve road safety, which are given below:
i) Road safety is the integral part of road design at the planning stage for National Highways/Expressways.
ii) Various steps to enhance road safety such as road furniture, road markings/road signs, introduction of Highway Traffic Management System using Intelligent Transport System, enhancement of discipline among contractors during construction, road safety audit on selected stretches, have been undertaken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
iii) Refresher training to Heavy Motor Vehicle drivers in the unorganized sector.
iv) Involvement of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) for road safety activities by the Department of Road Transport and Highways and NHAI.
v) Setting up of Model Driving Training School in the country by the Department of Road Transport and Highways.
vi) Publicity campaign on road safety awareness through audio-visual-print media by the Department of Road Transport and Highways.
vii) Conferring of National Award for voluntary organizations/individual for outstanding work in the field of road safety by Department of Road Transport and Highways.
viii) Tightening of safety standards of vehicles.
ix) Provision of cranes and ambulances to various State Governments/NGOs under National Highway Accident Relief Service Scheme by Department of Road Transport & Highways. National Highways Authority of India also provides ambulances at a distance of 50 Km. on each of its completed highways under its Operation & Maintenance contracts.
x) Widening and improvements of National Highways from 2 lanes to 4 lanes and 4 lanes to 6 lanes etc.
Further, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has recently formulated a Plan scheme for Rs.732.75 crores during the Eleventh Five Year Plan period wherein trauma centres would be set up along the National Highways i.e., the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South and East-West corridors. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) would be placing ambulances under this Scheme at a stretch of 50 Kms. on the Highways built and operated by them. The Department of Road Transport & Highways would provide specialized ambulances to identified hospitals along the National Highways.