State of traffic accidents in India

1. TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS, AND INJURIES– A
MAN-MADE DISASTER
Presented by:
 Dinesh Mondal
 Isha Sharma
 Neetu Sharma
 Vaibhav Agrawal
PGDPHM–CLASS OF 2020

2. • Accidents are defined as unpremeditated events resulting in recognisable damage.
• An unexpected unplanned occurrence which may involve a injury – Book Of Preventive and Social Medicines by K.
Parks (23rd edition).
• As per the definition laid by WHO an accident is –“ an occurrence in a sequence of events which usually produces
unintended injury, death, property damage”
Road traffic accidents and injuries represent a huge global
problem
Source: World Health Organization, (1956); Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015,WHO (December 2015)
An Overview
• Economic – Rapid
Urbanisation
• Environment - Fogs,
Landslides,
thunderstorms (trees)
• Infrastructure –
potholes, open drainage
• Behavioural Attributes:
road rage, irresponsible
driving
• Physical – Death,
disabilities
• Mental – Post Stress
Traumatic disorder
(PTSD )
• Economic burden in
terms of treatment,
years of lives lost
Determinants Impacts
2

3. 2.1
2.2
2.2
2.4
2.5
2.8
3.2
4.5
11.6
17.1
31.8
0 10 20 30 40
Tuberculosis
Road Accidents
Kidney Disease
Liver Disease
Diabetes, Blood And Endocrrine Disorders
Diarrheal Diseases
Neonatal Deaths
Dementia
Respiratory Diseases
Cancers
Cardio Vascular Disaeses
Share of Deaths by Cause, Global (%, 2017)
3
• On an average 1.35 million people die every
year as a result of road traffic injuries
• These incidents cost most countries 3% of
their gross domestic product
• In 2017, these incidents added 75.3 million
disability adjusted life years to global disease
burden
% Share
Despite low share in global fatalities, road accidents are one
among the leading cause of life-long disabilities
Global Deaths by Cause
Source: ‘Causes of Death’, Our World in Data (February 2018); ‘Road Traffic Injuries’, WHO (December 2018)
41%
19%
19%
9%
5%
4% 3%
Global Burden of Injuries
–(2017) Road Injury
Falls
Natural Disasters
Drowning
Fire, Heat and Hot
Substances
Exposure to Mechanical
Forces
PoisoningsSource: WHO, Global Health Estimates, 2017

4. Road Traffic Fatalities per 100,000 Population
Source: Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015,WHO (December 2015)
• In 2015, the national average of
fatalities in road accidents in low
income countries was 24.1 per
100,000 population
• This average was 6.7 points higher
than global average
• Availability of adequate post crash
care infrastructure prevents
fatalities in high income countries
• 49% of these incidents involved
pedestrians, cyclists and
motorcycles
• 93% of the world's fatalities on
the roads occur in low- and middle-
income countries, even though
these countries have
approximately 60% of the world's
vehicles
• Between 20 –50 million
people suffer non-fatal injuries,
with many incurring a disability as
a result of their injury
Americas
15.9
Europe
9.3
Africa
26.6
South East
Asia
17.0
Middle
East
19.9
Western
Pacific
17.3
Middle-East, Africa and Asia-Pacific are the top contributors
State of Traffic Accidents–Global
4

5. 3.5
13.6
15.1
15.3
16.6
17
17
17.4
20.3
36.2
0 10 20 30 40
Maldives
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Indonesia
India
Regional Rate
Nepal
Srilanka
Mayanmar
Thailand
Road Traffic Fatalities per 100,000
Population– 2015
Source: Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015,WHO (December 2015); Continued in the slide note
India matches regional average rate; Thailand loses maximum
lives to accidents in the region
State of Traffic Accidents–South-East Asia
• The south-east Asia contributes 25% to
the total fatalities due to road accidents
• In 2015, the average fatalities in south
–east Asia was slightly lower than the
global average; however, the inter-state
variations was significantly high in the
region
• While countries such as Thailand had
mounting high fatality rates, members
such as Maldives were found to be
significantly safer
5

6. Despite a reduction in the total number of accidents Y-o-Y,
severity mounts to a disturbing high
Source: Road Accidents in India–2017, Indian Environment Portal (2017);
State of Traffic Accidents–India
Source: Indian Environment Portal (2016)
In Thousands Absolute
439 461 479 485 486 500 498 490 486 489 501 481 465
83 94 101 107 111 120 122 123 123 126 132 136 148
21.6
31.4
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Road Accidents, Related Deaths & Accident Severity in India (2005–2017)
Total Number of Fatal Accidents Total Number of Accidents Accident Severity
• In 2017, the country reported a total of 4,65,000 road accidents that claimed 1,48,000 lives and injured 4,94, 624
others
– On an average, this translates into 1317 accidents and 413 accident deaths taking place on Indian roads every day; or 53
accidents and 16 deaths every hour
• While the number of road accidents (3.3%) and related injuries (1.1%) has declined Y-o-Y, the number of casualties
has seen an upsurge of 8% in 2017 over 2016
6

7. More than 5 states reported accidents over 30,000 in
2017
Source: Road Accidents in India–2016, Indian Environment Portal (2016);
Distribution of Total Number of Road Accidents amongst all States/U.Ts
Below 5,000
5,000–10,000
10,001–20,000
20,001–30,000
Above 30,000
Total Number of Road Accidents in
2017
Uttar
Pradesh
Madhya
Pradesh
Maharashtra
Karnataka
Tamil
NaduKerala
1 hour
Accidents-53
Deaths-16
Persons Injured-56
7

8. Tamil Nadu tops in all road rage related collisions
Source: Road Accidents in India–2017, Indian Environment Portal (2017);
55.5%
44.5%
Total Number of Injuries due to Road
Accidents–(2017)
47.1%
52.9%
Total Number of Fatalities–(2017)
Top 13 States Rest 16 States
Share of Top 5 States
51.4%
48.6%
Total Number of Road Accidents
–(2017)
Top 5
States
 Tamil Nadu
 Madhya Pradesh
 Karnataka
 Uttar Pradesh
 Kerala
 Uttar Pradesh
 Tamil Nadu
 Maharashtra
 Karnataka
 Rajasthan
 Tamil Nadu
 Madhya Pradesh
 Karnataka
 Kerala
 Maharashtra
Source: Indian Environment Portal (2016)
8

9. The state of road rage related causalities is alarming
in Uttar Pradesh
Source: Road Accidents in India–2016, Indian Environment Portal (2016);
Top 5 States
14.1
11.5
9.2
8.3 7.7
10.9
6.9 7.2
13.6
8.3
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Tamil Nadu Madhya Pradesh Karnataka Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra
% Share of States in Road Accidents and related Fatalities –2017
% Share in Road Accidents % Share in Fatalities
• In 2016, Tamil Nadu held the top spot in total number of road accidents and was seconded by Uttar Pradesh in total
number of fatalities
• As per a report published by Indian Environment Portal in 2017, the state of Maharashtra has displayed significant
improvement in the tally of road accidents over 2016
• The situation in Uttar Pradesh is alarming, wherein its share in the number of total fatalities is much more than that of
number of accidents; this is on account of high accident severity of 54.3 in the state as against the national average of
31.4.
Source: Indian Environment Portal (2016)
9

10. 10
Young people are more disposed to traffic accidents; men at
higher risk than women
Age Profile of Road Accident Victims
10,622
31,775
38,076
33,558
22174
8,814
9,408
34,244
39,549
32,788
22,462
9,384
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000
Less Than 18
18–25
25–35
35–45
45–60
Above 60
Age Profile of Fatal Road Accident Victims–2016 &
2017
2017 2016
• In 2017, the age profile of the fatal road accidents victims has been in line with the trend observed in 2016
• The young people , in the productive age groups form the most vulnerable set of population; besides the emotional and
the psychological impact this is the major driver of the economic burden of the road accidents
Source: Road Accidents in India–2017, Indian Environment Portal (2017);
Source: Indian Environment Portal (2017)
Percentage of Male/Female
Affected/Age Group
5.2% 1.1%
13% 2.2%
19.3% 2.9%
23.5% 3.3%
20.4% 2.8%
5% 1.3%

11. 11
Source: Global Status Report On Road Safety 2018, WHO (December 2018); Continued in slide note
Inadequate post crash care facilities raise the death toll in
rural areas
58% 42%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Share of Accidents Reported by Locality Type–2017
Rural Urban
• Similar to the total number of accidents, the share of rural areas in accident related fatalities was greater than the
urban areas
• While the rural areas indicated an increase in number of accidents in 2017, both accidents and related fatalities
have impeded in urban areas
• Inadequate trauma care facilities in rural areas are one of the contributing factors to high mortality rates
30% 36%
25%
27%
45% 37%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Number of accidents Fatalities
Traffic Accidents by Road Category–2017
Other Roads
State Highway
National Highway
• National highways and State highways
account to 1.8% and 3.1% of the total
road length (56 lakh km) in India
• The high percentage shares of these
roads are also attributed to the high
volume of traffic they carry
– 40% of the total road traffic in the
country is carried by the NHs.
Road Accidents by Locality Type in 2017

12. Two-wheelers are the most affected vehicles among
others; 1/4th of collisions involve old vehicles
Source: Road Accidents in India–2017, Indian Environment Portal (2017);
Share (%) of Vehicle Involved in Road Accidents in 2017
34%
25%
20%
7%
6%
1%
Share Increases
• Motorised vehicles accounted
for 94.4% of the fatal accidents
and 95.5% of total road
accidents in 2016
• The share of two-wheeler involving road accidents
has increased by 5% in 2016 from 2015
– 19.8% of people killed in such accidents
were not wearing helmets
41.9%
32.6%
15.0%
10.5%
Total Number of Road
Accidents by Vehicle Age
–(2017)
Less Than 5 years
5–10 Years
10–15 Years
> 15 Years
Source: Indian Environment Portal (2017)
100%= 4,09,401
• ~25% of the accidents in 2017
involved vehicles aged more than 10
years
12

13. Use of information technology and collaboration between the
stakeholders made TAEI a success
Source: ‘How Tamil Nadu Has Become a Role Model in Reducing Road Accident Deaths’, The Better India (June 2019)
Case Study– Tamil Nadu
• In 2018, Tamil Nadu reported a drop of 24.4% in road accidents related deaths; the decline has been instrumental
as the state was continuously struggling to control its share in the road accidents
• The decline is a result of the collective efforts of the critical stakeholders such as the police department, health
department, transport department and highway department across the state
Tamil Nadu Accident & Emergency Care Initiative
 Identified the deadliest points across the state
to position ambulances and TAEI centers1
 Built more speed breakers, signages and
increased police patrolling to dissuade
motorists from speeding
 Strict enforcement of rules such as drunk
driving, not wearing helmets/seatbelts
2017, 16,517
2018, 12,213
Road Accident Deaths in Tamil Nadu
Decline of
24.4%
Prevention Intervention
Note: 1) TAEI Centers are public hospitals equipped with a high dependency ward and a multidisciplinary critical unit
 Used tech-based applications for ambulatory
services to reduce average response time to
13 and 17 minutes in cities and rural areas
respectively
 Implemented a patient arrival system in
hospitals to prepare hospitals for emergency
 This patient arrival system was effectively
implemented with the help of a dedicated cell
phone provided to all the TAEI centers, a
robust SOP and constant tracking mechanism
13

14. Policies/Acts/Bills Awareness Programs/
Educational
Government Approach: Ministry Of Road Transport &
Highways
14
Policies & Guidelines
• Motor vehicles act, 1988.
• Central Road Fund Act, 2000
• National Road Safety & Traffic management Bill
2007
• Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2017
• Road safety week – First week of January.
• Model Institutes of Driving Training and
Research (IDTR).
• Driving Training Centre (DTC).
• Research in Road Safety
• Road Safety Campaign

15. Social media serves as an important platform to reach out to
the youth
• In 2019, as part of the road safety campaign by the ministry of road transport and highways, a dashboard for road
accident data, through which people can access related data and other information both state-wise and the
national averages, has been introduced
• The newly passed Motor Vehicles (Amendment) bill would infuse major corrections such as
– providing for the protection of children,
– rationalizing penalties,
– a uniform driver licensing system,
– fixing liability for road contractors for faulty roads and
– introducing adult accountability for juvenile driving among other progressive provisions
• Further, the ministry has released a set of comic books on road safety, produced by Uber and Amar Chitra Katha,
called Swachha Safar and Surakshit Yatra, with an aim to create awareness among children in an informal format
that they can relate to
• A social media campaign has also been latched to create awareness about the road safety
– The campaign is specially directed to the tech-savvy younger population
Source: ‘What is India doing to put the brakes on the alarming number of roads accidents reported each year’,YourStory
(February 2019)
Road Safety Campaign 2019
15

16. Strengthening of trauma care facilities is utmost important to
tame down death toll due to road accidents
Source: ‘Capacity Building for Trauma Care Facilities in Government Hospitals on National Highways’, DGHS
9–10 FYP 11–12 FYP Beyond 12th FYP
• This program was started on pilot
mode under the 9th & 10th FYP as
“Pilot Project for strengthening
emergency facilities along the
highways”
• During the 11th Plan, the program
was renamed as “Assistance for
capacity building for developing
trauma care facilities in Govt.
hospitals on National Highways”
• The 11th FYP was approved for
developing a network of 140 trauma
care facilities in the Govt. Hospitals
along the Golden Quadrilateral
highway corridor as well as North-
South & East-West Corridors
• The scheme was extended to the
12th FYP and the proposal for
extension of scheme during 12th
plan as “Capacity building for
developing Trauma Care Facilities
in Govt. Hospitals on National
Highways”, was approved for
development of 85 new trauma care
facilities.
• The scheme has been extended
beyond the 12th FYP, till March, 2020
as “National Program for
Prevention & Management of
Trauma and Burn Injuries”.
• Under this program, the government
is providing training to the doctors,
nurses, paramedics and even to the
common people on first-aid and
management of injuries
• Till date more than 500 pre-hospital
trauma technicians have been
trained by Safdarjung Hospital, RML
Hospital and Lady Harding Hospital
of the central government
Trauma Care–Capacity Building in Government Hospitals on National Highways
16

17. Vehicular Safety Standards And IT
Enabled Safety Measures
• Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) has been made
mandatory for M1 and M2 category Vehicles;
• Fitment of Speed Governor on M1 category;
• Turning circle and Steering effort requirements;
• Additional safety provision for M1 category – seat belt
reminder, air bag, manual over-ride, speed alert system;
• Standardization of fully built bus as per AIS : 153
• Self-certification of Bus Body Code;
• Ventilation system in truck cabin
• Change in IS standards for Agricultural Tractor, brakes,
Turning Circle diameter and location of exhaust pipe.
Road engineering measures
• 4 ‘E’s viz. Education, Engineering (both of roads and
vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care.
• Road Safety Audit.
• Identification and rectification of accident black spots.
Post-crash Response And Trauma
Care
• Emergency Medical Services for Road
Accidents.
• Good Samaritans guidelines (2015).
17
Government Approach: Directorate General of Health Services
Preventive Measures Implemented to Reduce Crash

18. Hero Motocorp – Ride safe initiative
Includes adopting of safety training parks in several locations around the country & setting up of Two
– wheeler riding schools.
They organises road safety awareness & safe riding education programs for school/college students
& other institutions in collaboration with local administration, traffic police, & transport department
18
Private organizations are doing their bit
to ensure road safety

19. Muskaan: Foundation For Road
Safety(1999)
• Charitable trust in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
• Uses an integrated, community – centric
approach to complex issue of road safety.
• Works: Awareness & Education – Road
Safety Education Program, Rotary
International Mobile Van, Project Drive Jaipur,
Road Safety Carnival
• Won 5th National Road Safety Award Winner
by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways,
Government of India.
SaveLIFE Foundation( SLF) 2009
• An independent, non – profit, non –
government organization committed to
improving road safety & emergency medical
care across India. (Headquarters – Delhi)
• Aims/objective – Crash Prevention & Post –
Crash response
• Works on Policy Advocacy, On – ground
Intervention
• Impacts – Secured protection of Good
Samaritians, Secured ban against the
practice of carrying protruding, Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Bill 2016, 10,000+ first –
responders trained.
• Featured on Satyamev Jayate, awarded
membership of Clinton Initiative, 2014
19
1
2
NGOs are filling the gaps in preventing and controlling damage
due to road accidents
NGOs Operating in Different States

20. 20
Source: Global Status Report On Road Safety 2018, WHO (December 2018)
India–Progress
Prevention of Crash
National Speed Limit Law
National Drink-driving Law
National Motorcycle Helmet Law
National Seat-belt Law
National Child Restraint Law
National Law on use of Mobile Phones during Driving
National Drug-driving Law
Post Crash Care
National Emergency Care Access Number
Trauma Registry
Formal Certification for Prehospital Providers
National Assessment of Emergency Care Systems
With the preventive measures being implemented aggressively,
the need to measure their outcomes intensifies

21. Questions & Answers
21
“There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.”–Mahatma Gandhi,
Father of the Nation