Recently there has been a surging leap in road crashes resulting in numerous deaths and injuries. A large number of people maimed in road accidents lead a miserable life much to the woes of their families as many of the wounded victims are the only bread-winners of their families and a great many of them become burden on the family forever.
Road crashes keep rising, claiming thousands of lives and we are numbed to learn from a report of the Road Safety Foundation that at least7,294 people were killed and 12,019 injured in 6,927 incidents of road accidents in 2024. But according to a report of the Passengers Welfare Samity, 8,543 people were killed in road accidents in 2024. Besides, more than 30 lakh people suffer non-fatal injuries in road crashes each year, and 38,028 of them are left permanently disabled. This underscores the severity of the issue that demands faster intervention by the authorities. Everybody is well aware that the country’s road transport sector’s performance is doomed to a flop. It is of no use to talk about the extreme bedlam on the road that defied solution over the years. In a nutshell, people are absolutely hostage to an anarchic situation and it seems almost impossible to get out of this rot shortly.
Voicing concerns over worsening road safety experts said that the operation of a large number of unfit vehicles, a shortage of skilled drivers, a sharp rise in small and slow-moving vehicles, and poor enforcement of traffic laws have plunged the transport sector into disarray. Rash driving and break-neck dash of vehicles are often responsible for accidents. Respect for laws is hardly seen among the drivers.
Until the change of government following last year’s mass uprising, it is learnt that a number of key committees or task forces had been entrusted with overseeing road safety. But none of these committees, so far it is known, performed anything significant. There had been a National road Safety Action Plan for reducing road crashes, which, though never effectively implemented, expired last December. And the roads remain deadly and road crashes keep rising. Experts said severe shortcomings in strategic transport planning and the failure to address indiscipline led to sharp rise in road crashes and fatalities under the previous government. Strategies of the ministry of road transport and bridges, and traffic police division have remained largely unchanged. As a result, there has been no visible progress in curbing road accidents. The Road Transport Act 2018 has also failed to address the prevailing indiscipline in the sector as it remains largely unimplemented. The authorities’ failure to enforce its directive to withdraw longevity-expired vehicles from operation is a case in point. This situation must change altogether.
The surge in the number of injury-related deaths also highlights a public health crisis that demands a quick response. The authorities must develop and execute an injury prevention strategy, form a national committee for necessary interventions, and build capacity for on-site injury prevention. Against this backdrop, all including political parties must commit to prioritizing road safety as road crashes remain a major cause of deaths and injuries, and modernising public transport systems to ensure safe roads for all.
