India has one of the worst road safety records in the world with a total of 1,50,000 fatalities and 4,50,000 injuries in road accidents every year, resulting in social-economic losses equivalent to a shocking 3.14 per cent of GDP every year.
As per World Bank report released by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Saturday, India has one per cent of the world’s vehicles, but it accounts for 10 per cent of all road crash victims.
And more alarming is the fact that 70 per cent of the fatalities are in the age group of 18 to 45 years.
With the National Road Safety Month underway, the World Bank in association with the SaveLIFE Foundation, a national non-Governmental organisation focused on road safety, released the comprehensive report on “Traffic Crash Injuries and Disabilities: The Burden on Indian Society.”
The study, released by Gadkari, reveals that more than 75 per cent of poor households in India reported a decline in their income as a result of a road traffic crash. The financial loss for the poor amounted to more than seven months’ household income, while it was equivalent to less than one month’s household income for rich households.
As per the Road Accident Report, 4,49,002 accidents took place in the country during 2019, leading to 1,51,113 deaths and 451,361 injuries. In percentage terms, the number of accidents decreased by 3.86 per cent in 2019 as compared to 2018, while accident-related deaths decreased by 0.20 per cent and those injured decreased by 3.86 per cent.
The World Bank report highlights the disproportionate impact of a road crash on poor households that pushes them into a vicious cycle of poverty and debt. It sheds light on the links between road crashes, poverty, inequality, and vulnerable road users in India.
The study interviewed around 2,500 respondents, including 1,647 respondents from low-income households, 432 from high-income households and 420 truck drivers in the four selected States (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar representing Low-Capacity States and Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra representing High-Capacity States) across urban and rural areas. The qualitative part of the study included focus group discussions with road crash survivors and their family members and in-depth interviews with adolescents aged 14-18 years.
“We have taken a number of positive initiatives to reduce road crash deaths in India. With the support of all stakeholders in our society, I am committed to reducing road crash deaths by 50 per cent by 2025,” Gadkari said in his address during the release of the report in the presence of Hartwig Schafer, World Bank Vice-President for the South Asia region.