Nitin Gadkari, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has attributed the increasing road accidents and fatalities in India to poor engineering and substandard detailed project reports (DPRs). Speaking at the CII National Conclave on Road Safety, Gadkari highlighted the urgent need for enhanced road safety measures and called on the industry to contribute to strategies for improvement.
India recorded 460,000 road accidents, resulting in 168,000 deaths and 400,000 serious injuries, according to the ministry’s 2022 report. These accidents, occurring at a rate of 53 per hour with 19 deaths per hour, contribute to an economic loss of 3.18% of GDP. Gadkari noted a 12% increase in road accidents and a 10% increase in road accident deaths compared to the previous year.
Gadkari emphasized the four crucial ‘E’s of road safety: engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency medical services. He highlighted the poor quality of DPRs in the country, holding engineers accountable for the rise in road accidents due to inadequate planning and design. The minister expressed concern about the road engineering and defective planning reflected in DPRs, stating, “…This gives me a feeling that basically the engineers are responsible for road accidents. So, the main problem is road engineering and defective planning, and defective DPRs.”
The minister pointed out that 16% of road accident victims are young people aged 18-35. Despite national and state highways comprising only 5.5% of India’s road network, they account for 36% of road accident deaths.
With road safety being a top priority, the government aims to reduce accident rates by 50% by 2030, Gadkari stated. He urged collaboration between the industry and the government to develop solutions to prevent road accidents, emphasizing the importance of education in building safer infrastructure and promoting safer driving habits.
Gadkari also highlighted the need for stronger law enforcement and responsive emergency medical services. Addressing the driver shortage of 2.2 million in the country, the minister encouraged the industry to initiate training programs for new drivers to enhance road safety.
The call to action from Nitin Gadkari underscores the pressing need for a comprehensive approach involving engineering improvements, educational initiatives, strict enforcement, and effective emergency response systems to curb the alarming rise in road accidents in India.
