Lok Sabha Question No. 2619 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-27
Subject: Road Accidents
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: DHARMENDRA YADAV, PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE, SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE

## be pleased to state:

- (a) whether 14,6133 deaths were caused in 2015 due to road accidents, which is more than 14 times the 10,510 deaths resulting from natural disasters in the said period;
- (b)  if  so,  whether  faulty  road  design  and  complex  coordination  mechanism  of Government agencies are the major hindrances in ensuring road safety;
- (c) if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether there is any training policy for officials to enable them to conduct proper and comprehensive investigation of reasons for road accidents;
- (e)  whether  the  Government  is  taking  any  initiative  to  strengthen  the  provisions relating  to  motor  vehicles  and  make  road  contractors  and  consultants  accountable for faulty road design and construction;
- (f) if so, the details thereof; and
- (g) the other steps taken for the safety of road users?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI  MANSUKH  L. MANDAVIYA)

- (a) to  (  c  )          As  per  information  received  from  police  department  of  all States/UTs the total number of persons deaths caused due to road accident in 2015 were  1,46,133.  There  are  various  causes  responsible  for  the  road  accident  deaths. These are summarized in Annexure 'A'.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2619

ANSWERED  ON  27 th  DECEMBER, 2018

## ROAD  ACCIDENTS

2619. SHRI  DHARMENDRA   YADAV: DR.  PRITAM  GOPINATH   MUNDE: DR.  SHRIKANT  EKNATH  SHINDE:

Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

(d) Yes  Madam,  Ministry  of  Road  Transport  &  Highways  has  appointed,  in November, 2017, Asian Institute of Transport Development (AITD) as Apex Centre for capacity development programme for the Road Engineering personal to provide training  on  Road  Safety  and  Road  Safety  Audit  to  reduce  the  road  accidents  on National  Highways  in  the  country.  Till  date,  1700  Government  officers  of  Road Sector  have  been  trained  under  the  programme.  Besides,  under  capacity  building, NHAI  field officers and technical staff of concessionaires, contractors and consultants engaged in NHAI projects are being imparted training on road safety at site by the Road Safety Expert of NHAI.

(e) &   (f) : Under the Motor Vehicle amendment Bill which has been passed by Lok Sabha, new Section 198(A) has been incorporated which provides for  fine on account  of  failure  to  following  prescribed  safety  standards  by  the  authorities, contractors,  consultants  and  concessionaires    responsible  for  design,  construction and maintenance of roads. The Bill is pending in Rajya Sabha. To check the faulty road design and construction, relevant clauses havebeen  incorporated in the tender documents to be used for contractors  and consultants by the Ministry.

(g) Road  safety is a multi-sectoral and  multidimensional  issue requiring a multipronged approach at various levels. Accordingly, the Ministry of  Road Transport and Highways has taken a number of steps including long terms strategy to prevent road accidents and road accident fatalities as per details mentioned under:-

- 1) The  Government  has  approved  a  National  Road  Safety  Policy.    This  Policy outlines various policy measures such as promoting awareness, establishing road safety  information  data  base,  encouraging  safer  road  infrastructure  including application of intelligent transport, enforcement of safety laws etc.
- 2) The Government has constituted the National Road Safety Council as the apex body to take policy decisions in matters of road safety.
- 3) The Ministry has constituted Group of Ministers of State Transport Ministers to examine the best practices of Transport and suggest issues to improve road safety.
- 4) Based  on  the  recommendation  of  Group  of  Minister,  the  Ministry  introduced Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2017 covering entire gamut of road safety.
- 5) The  Bill  contains  the  provision  of  creation  of  Motor  Vehicle  Accident  Fund, implementation of Cashless Treatment Scheme during Golden Hour, setting up of a  dedicated  agency  for  road  safety  viz.  National  Road  Safety  and  Traffic Management Board (NRSTMB), enhancement of penalty for traffic rule violations, etc. which have direct impact on road safety.
- 6) The Ministry has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety  based  on  4  'E's  viz.  Education,  Engineering  (both  of  roads  and  vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care.
- 7) Road safety has been made an integral part of road design at planning stage.
- 8) Road Safety Audit of selected stretches of National Highways has been taken up
- 9) The threshold for four laning of national highway has been reduced from 15,000 Passenger Car Units (PCUs) to 10,000 PCUs. About 52,000 Km of stretches of State Highways has been identified for conversion to national highways.
- 10) Setting up of model driving training institutes in States and refresher training to drivers of Heavy Motor Vehicle in the unorganized sector.
- 11) Advocacy/Publicity  campaign  on  road  safety  through  the  electronic  and  print media.
- 12) Tightening  of  safety  standards  for  vehicles  like  Seat  Belts,  anti-lock  braking system etc.
- 13) High priority has been accorded to identification and rectification of black spots (accident prone spots) on national highways.
- 14) Guidelines  for  identification  and  rectification  of  black  spots,  carrying  out  road safety audits and preparation of road safety improvement proposals on NHs and also guidelines on implementation of road safety engineering measures on state roads under Central Road Fund (CRF) have been issued.
- 15) 789 black spots based on fatalities in 2011,2012,2013 and 2014 calendars years have been  identified.  So  far  189  spots  have  already  been  rectified.  Rectification measures  at  256  spots  have  been  sanctioned  which  are  in  various  stages  of implementation. 138 spots are on State Government roads / with other agencies. The balance 206 spots would be taken separately or would be rectified as part of ongoing projects.
- 16) As  a  measure  of  supplementing  the  efforts  of  States  /  UTs  for  minimizing  the accident  potential  at  the  identified  locations  /  stretches  through  engineering improvement on state roads, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways had taken a decision  to  sanction  road  safety  works  on  state  roads  with  an  earmarked allocation of 10% of funds allocated to the state roads under Central Road Fund.
- 17) Ministry  has  delegated  powers  to  Regional  Officers  of  MORTH  for  technical approval  to  the  detailed  estimates  for  rectification  of  identified  Road  Accident black spots for expediting the rectification process to ensure safety of road users.
- 18) Ministry had issued guidelines vide O.M. dated 14.1.2016 for taking up of Road Safety  Audits  on  National  Highways  either  as  part  of  EPC/BOT  projects  or  as stand-alone Road Safety Audits.
- 19) Guidelines  for  pedestrian  facilities  on  National  Highways  for  persons  with disabilities have also been issued to all States / UTs.
- 20) In order to ensure safe and smooth flow of traffic, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways  has  envisaged  a  plan  for  replacement  of  all  the  Level  Crossing  on National Highways by ROBs / RUBs and replacement / widening / strengthening of weak and narrow bridges under a scheme SetuBhartam. Under this programme, construction of 208 Level Crossings at an estimated cost of Rs. 20,800 Crore are included.
- 21) Two National Level Workshops and several Regional Training workshops in 11 states have been organized on Road Safety Engineering.
- 22) A Certification Course for Road Safety Auditors has been commenced in Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) and 42 Auditors are certified.
- 23) Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has constituted a  District Road Safety Committee  in  each  district  of  the  country  to  promote  awareness  amongst  road users under the chairmanship of Hon'ble Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from the district.

## ANNEXURE-A

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (c) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2619 FOR ANSWER ON 27-12-2018 ASKED BY SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV: DR.PRITAM GOPINATH MUNDE: AND DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE REGARDINGROADACCIDENTs.

## Causes responsible for the road accident deaths

|   Sl. No. | Causes of road accident                      |
|-----------|----------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Use of Mobile Phone                          |
|         2 | Drunken driving/consumption of alcohol/ Drug |
|         3 | Mechanical Defect                            |
|         4 | Stray Animals                                |
|         5 | Overloaded Vehicle                           |
|         6 | Poor light condition                         |
|         7 | Over speeding                                |
|         8 | Overtaking                                   |
|         9 | Road Condition                               |
|        10 | Road Engineering                             |
|        11 | Jumping red light                            |

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