Road traffic accidents kill more people around the world than malaria, and are the leading cause of death for people — especially in the Capital. Detailed investigations into road crashes are a rarity, officials in-charge of road safety are almost never held accountable, road design continues to be dangerous, and laws around road safety remain insufficient and poorly enforced.
With close to 600 road fatalities occurring in just five months, the national Capital ranks among the top States having the highest number of road accidents. While unruly behaviour of drivers is the primary cause of such untoward incidents, a lot can also be attributed to faulty design of roads coupled with a policy paralysis when it comes to the agenda of road safety, believe experts.
As the Capital stares at a staggering figure of 5,720 deaths in the last three years, knowing the causes behind such alarming numbers assumes great significance. Road and traffic experts believe bad road manners are the main reason behind increasing accidents and cases of fatalities. Not just negligence, but the sheer lack of education of traffic rules also results in a lot of accidents occurring at intersections and roundabouts. “Many people are not aware that in a roundabout, the traffic moving towards the right should go first and the cars waiting at the arterial roads should wait until that traffic is cleared. The same is with intersections as well. Besides, there is the general behaviour of drivers which is often an ego maybe, of not conforming to rules,” said
KK Kapila, chairperson, International Road Federation (IFR). Many have also expressed the need for detailed investigations into road crashes.
Besides, laws around road safety remain deficient and poorly enforced. “The sole statute governing road safety, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2012, is also hanging. We need monumental changes in the road safety situation. Even if there is no Chief Minister in Delhi, the lieutenant Governor is in the power to reduce deaths almost immediately by overhauling the licensing system to make it more transparent and efficient. The l-G should fix a deadline of three months in which he must order to correct all the black spots. Stricter penalties should be levied on faulting drivers,” added Kapila.
However, it is not all about unruly behavior. Much has also to do with faulty road designs and traffic infrastructure. According to a survey by the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways (MoRTH), almost 90 per cent of road fatalities take place due to black spots at various areas. Black spots are generally a result of unscientific road design, sudden merger of traffic, over grown trees, insufficient lights and sudden spurt in speed of vehicles. There are at least 21 such spots in the Capital. “Areas like Shastri Park, Ashram Chowk, Mukarba Chowk, Seelampur and Moolchand Flyover have design faults which create chaos and often lead to accidents. Wrong or missing signages are also a reason,” said K Ravinder, scientist, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).
The wide and smooth roads of the national Capital are also a reason, say experts. Narrow roads in big cities like Mumbai, Kolkata or Bangalore lead to more congestion and result in slow-moving traffic and fewer fatalities.