India leads world in road deaths

Painting a grim picture, the WHO report states that globally over 1.2 people die in road accidents every year and 20-25 million people suffer non-fatal injuries. The report also reveals that 90% of deaths on world's roads occur in low and middle-income countries (21.5 and 19.5 per lakh of population, respectively) whereas it has been declining in the case of high-income countries (10.3 per lakh).

Although the global report based on 2006 and 2007 statistics collected from 178 participating countries shows that 1.05 lakh people died on Indian roads in 2006, the last NCRB report mentions 1.14 lakh people were killed in road accidents in 2007, registering a 6.1% increase. However, road safety experts say that the real numbers could be higher since many of these accident cases are not even reported. "There is no estimate of how many injured in road accidents die a few hours or days after the accident," points out Rohit Baluja, member of the UN Road Safety Collaboration and Commission of Global Road Safety representing Asia.

He adds that both Central and state governments are doing little to make the roads safe when they push construction of highways and roads. "We don't have scientific traffic engineering which forms the basis of road safety improvement practiced in US and UK since 1930s. This still remains a matter of consultancy in India as we are yet to have our own traffic engineering wings," Baluja adds.

In fact, the report shows while only 3,298 people died in road accidents in UK in 2006, in the case of the US it was 42,642.The major culprits include speed, drunken-driving, avoiding helmets, seat belts and child restraints in vehicles. In fact, the WHO report warns that deaths in road accidents could emerge as the fifth major reason for death by 2030. In 2004, road accidents were the top ninth cause in 2004.

"Speed is main reason behind accidents. An increase in average speed is directly related to both the likelihood of a crash occurring and to the severity of crash consequences. A 5% increase in average speed leads to an approximately 10% increase in crashes that cause injuries and a 20% increase in fatal crashes. Zones of 30 kmph can reduce crash risk and injury severity and are recommended in areas where vulnerable road users are particularly at risk," the report mentions.

India has most deaths in road mishaps

Significantly, it says only 29% countries have managed to reduce the speed in urban areas and 10% have been effective in managing it. Traffic calming measures are lacking in areas where traffic segregation does not happen and implementation of rules have been lacking, the report states. "This is one of the major worries in our case. The roles and responsibilities of agencies managing traffic is not defined," Baluja said.

A brief analysis of the NCRB report points to Andhra Pradesh having the highest share of deaths due to road accidents (12%) followed by Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh (11% each). Interestingly, the report shows that a maximum of 23,991 occupants of these vehicles lost their lives.