As our country is growing economically, so are the road traffic accidents. Apart from the obvious damage, the increase in these road traffic accidents is also creating hurdles in the economic growth of the nation. This author believes that human resource is the biggest resource. Every year the nation is losing 1.5 lakh people and a similar number of them are being disabled permanently, if they survive such accidents. Road accident does not spare any section of the society whether a person is poor or rich, unskilled or highly skilled. Majority of them are in the age group of 20-40 years and are usually the bread earners of the family.
I also believe that health, education and nutrition are the fundamental needs of any person. As we know, our nation is struggling to meet the basic needs like heath, education and nutrition. The road traffic accidents are depleting the resources meant for these basic needs. The injuries caused by road mishaps are not only causing physical disability but also causing economic disability.
After the traffic accidents, everybody becomes poorer than what he or she was earlier. Fifty per cent of the families are either borrowing money from someone or selling their assets like land, house, cattle, vehicle, ornaments etc for the treatment of their beloved. But unfortunately, in spite of the best available treatment in our country one-fourth to a half of accident victims remain temporarily or permanently disabled and unfortunately but practically become a liability to their family.
A Study conducted in 2016 by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP) revealed that India loses $58 billion annually due to road accidents which is worth about three per cent of the GDP. If we consider only the estimated monetary loss which is spent by the patient and his/her family in the hospital it adds up to about `2,000 crore annually.
One will recall a major bus accident took place at Pauri district in Uttarakhand recently in which 48 out of 60 people died. Similarly, in a recent Himachal Pradesh accident 52 out of 98 passengers died and in Maharashtra, 32 people out of 33 died. In a recent police report, it was found that about 15,000 accidents are occurring annually in Uttarakhand out of which 10 per cent are fatal accidents leading to death of the driver and passenger. Of those who survive, 25 to 50 per cent become handicapped.
In the last 10 years, the numbers of road traffic accidents have doubled in India whereas they have decreased by one third in China. Among the major reasons behind the road traffic accidents are sleep deprivation and alcohol intake while driving. The existing mental, social and financial pressure on the drivers give them a kick to over speed even on congested roads which leads to road traffic accidents.
Over speeding, overtaking and over loading are also responsible for increasing number of road traffic accidents. It has also been scientifically proven that when speed increases the number of accidents tend to increase. According to a police report three-fourth of vehicles on the Yamuna expressway had been found to be over speeding. According to a police survey conducted in the mountain State of Uttarakhand, the major causes of road accidents are over speeding or over loading. The people are trying to save time by over speeding and over taking to waste the time on the social media instead.
The increasing desire to stay connected on social platforms has become so addictive in recent years that people have the urge to use it even while driving vehicles. This is very dangerous as has also been published in many reports that state that mobile phones are the cause of fatal accidents with the number of such mishaps rising day by day.
In a 2017 Government report published, it was found that the risk of fatality is 40 per cent in case of people who are driving and simultaneously using mobile phones resulting in an accident. Some time ago in Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh), 13 children died because the driver was using the mobile phone with earphones while crossing a railway line and he could not hear the horn of the train and the shouting of the school children who were trying to alert him about the incoming train.
A visual experiment was conducted in Hong Kong where it was shown that the 5-6 seconds it takes one to take out a mobile phone, unlock it and read the messages, are enough to cause fatal accidents. No message or call is so urgent, attending which can’t be deferred by a few minutes. If they are so important, one should stop the vehicle at the side of the road and only then respond to them. Driving safely and staying safe while driving is more important rather than trying to stay connected 24x7 on the social media.
Road traffic accidents are on the increase all over the world but the incidence of accidents is more in India where there is a need for comprehensive measures to prevent them, treat them at a proper time and at an optimum cost.
There should be a national mission to make the general public aware about the road safety rules and regulations. Contributing its bit, this author’s organisation too has been conducting such awareness programmes since 2005.
As part of such efforts, one shares his experience with the students of schools and colleges who are the target population-also stressing that a single accident can change physical, mental, social and financial status of the injured person.
According to a study, 90 per cent of accidents are due to driver carelessness and only 10 per cent are due to other causes like ill maintained roads and vehicles. If we follow the traffic rules honestly the chances of accidents can be reduced significantly. I believe that nowadays one cannot complete formal education, go to their place of work or go to other places without driving a vehicle or being driven by someone else to reach the place of learning or work.
Just by knowing the above facts, one should realise the importance of driving in our day to day lives. Our country is having many hundreds of thousands of educational institutions but not even a few hundred driving schools. Driving schools could have played a big role in decreasing the number of road traffic accidents.
The students should be made to use helmets while using two-wheelers and use seatbelt while in four-wheelers. Human resource is the biggest resource and we should try to save it. For this, whenever you are using the roads always think about road safety and your safety.
(The author is an orthopaedic and spine surgeon, and the founding president of State Chapter of Indian Orthopaedic Association)