Caution Signages and Their Relevance in Commuter Safety in High-Density Construction and Traffic Areas of Two Smart Cities in Odisha: A Cross-Sectional Study to Ensure Eco-Mobility
Authors: Kar Sonali , Pradhan Asutosh , Kar Ansuman , Shrivastava Varsha 
Published: November 2023

INTRODUCTION: India has regulations to control RTA and is thus skewed towards regulating traffic and imposing fines if appropriate protective gear is not worn while driving. However, considering the population and perhaps also the socioeconomic standards of a major section of society, it is imperative to be equally vigilant towards the protection of commuters.

Commuters can fall into all age ranges and, given the compounded problems of multiple constructions, bad roads, lack of proper walking space, stray animals, and mostly even rash driving, are at the highest risk of accidents. The most cost-effective and basic initial effort to offer them some protection would be to have signages and instructions posted at appropriate points of busy junctions or requisite points.

OBJECTIVES:

Primary:

1. To assess the awareness among commuters regarding danger signages and pedestrian norms in age groups and among genders.

Secondary:

1. To identify the enabling factors that contribute to injuries/accidents among this section of the population on busy roads in sampled areas.
2. To make recommendations to ensure commuter safety and compliance with safety rules.

METHODS: Select four sites each as per police station jurisdiction in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Two team members are deputed to stand at a convenient hour and seek permission as well as consent from commuters and assess their knowledge from a standardized pictorial flow chart by the Disaster Management Board. Responses were noted in a Google form by the survey team comprising interns and postgraduate students and interviewed at least ten each day. Five consecutive consenting commuters, each from age groups 11-21, 21-50, and >50 years from each gender, for five working days of two weeks, were completed.

In the last six months, data from the police station was taken regarding reports of accidents by commuters in those areas and correlations were developed between relevant factors.

Results were shared with the commuters and police in random groups to educate and generate a felt need for reinforcement of regulations that would prevent accidents to some extent.

The study was conceived in the two busiest cities of Odisha state- Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, where active development activities occur throughout the year.

RESULTS: From both cities, 64 commuters were selected for the study. Awareness of signages improved with increasing age, from 56% to 65% to 88%. Signages for construction sites and malls were poor in Cuttack, as it did not have many malls. Accidents were common among those aged 11 to 21 years, especially among females, and no correlation was seen between the reported injuries, gender-wise or socioeconomic status. Although increasing age was protective for injuries (21%; SD ±4.5, OR 0.21, p<0.03), the ones reported were primarily due to the use of alcohol, oversight, and lack of knowledge of signages. The police administration also admitted to under-reporting such injuries. The presence of stray animals was also a highly significant enabling factor for such injuries (OR 5.6, P<0.0001).