Report on “Traffic Crash Injuries And Disabilities: The Burden on India Society”. (Highlights and full report link given )
“Traffic Crash Injuries And Disabilities: The Burden on India Society”.
The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways released the World Bank Report titled “Traffic Crash Injuries And Disabilities: The Burden on India Society”.
§ The Report has been prepared in collaboration with the NGO-Save
Life Foundation.
§ The survey data was collected from four Indian states i.e. Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
Key Points
§ Global Fatalities due to Road Accidents:
o Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) - Eighth leading cause of death.
o Road Crash Fatality Rate
- Three times higher in
low-income countries compared to high-income countries.
§ Road Accidents and Related Deaths in India:
o Accounts for 11% of the
global death in road accidents,
the highest
in the world.
o Accounts for about 4.5 lakh road crashes per annum, in
which 1.5 lakh people die.
§ Economic Impacts of Road Accidents:
o Estimated Economic Loss
- 3.14% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
indicating underreporting phenomenon in the
country.
o Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Estimates -
·
Socio-economic cost of Road Crashes is equivalent to 0.77%
of the GDP.
·
76.2%
of people who are killed in road crashes are in their prime
working-age, 18-45 years.
§ Social Impact:
o Burden on Households:
·
At the individual level,
road crash injuries and deaths impose a severe financial burden
and push entire (non-poor) households into poverty and the
already poor into debt.
·
Every road accident
death causes depletion of nearly seven months’
household income in poor families, and pushes the kin of
victims in a cycle of poverty and debt.
o Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs):
·
VRUs bear a disproportionately large burden of road crashes and account for more than half of all road crash deaths
and serious injuries in the country.
·
It is often the poor,
especially male road-users of working age, that constitute
the category of VRUs.
·
Daily wage workers and
workers employed as casual labourers in informal activities are more prone to
be defined as vulnerable compared to workers engaged in regular activities.
·
In India, where VRUs are
forced to share space with other less vulnerable road users, the
income level of an individual has a direct bearing on the mode of transport
used.
o Gender Specific Impact:
·
Women in the families of
victims bore the burden across poor and rich households,
often taking up extra work, assuming greater responsibilities, and performing
caregiving activities.
·
About 50%
of women were severely affected by the decline in their household income after
a crash.
·
About 40%
of women reported a change in their working patterns post-accident,
while around 11% reported taking up extra work to
deal with the financial crisis.
o Rural-Urban Divide:
·
The income
decline for low-income rural households (56%) was the most
severe compared to low-income urban (29.5%) and
high-income rural households (39.5%).
§ Steps Taken at Global Level:
o Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety (2015):
·
The declaration was signed at the
second Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety held in Brazil. India
is a signatory to the Declaration.
·
The countries plan to
achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3.6 i.e.
to half the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by
2030.
o Decade for Road Safety:
·
The United Nations (UN)
declared 2011-2020 as the decade of action
for Road Safety.
o UN Global Road Safety Week:
·
It is celebrated
every two years, the fifth edition (held from 6-12 May
2019) highlighted the need for strong leadership for road safety.
o The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) :
·
It is a registered
charity dedicated to saving lives through safer roads.
§ Steps Taken by Indian Government
o Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019:
·
The Act hikes the penalties for
traffic violations, defective vehicles, juvenile driving, etc.
·
It provides for a Motor
Vehicle Accident Fund, which would provide compulsory
insurance cover to all road users in India for certain types of accidents.
·
It also provides for a National
Road Safety Board, to be created by the Central Government
through a notification.
·
It also provides for the
protection of good samaritans.
Way Forward
§ Policy-oriented
approaches are needed for saving lives
and improving the ability of victims and their families to get back on their
feet, including providing immediate financial, medical and legal aid.
§ Areas that require immediate improvements include post-crash
emergency care and protocols, insurance and compensation systems.
§ There is a need for development agencies, policymakers and
respective state governments to prioritize a complete policy overhaul of
the existing system and implement sustainable
solution-oriented, inclusive measures to improve their
performance on road safety.
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