Lok Sabha Question No. 134 (STARRED), answered on 2022-02-10
Subject: Road Accidents
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Ramya  Haridas

## be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that certain National Highways (NHs) are more prone to road accidents;
- (b) if so, the number of road accidents reported on NHs during each of the last three years, NH-wise;
- (c) whether any study has been conducted to ascertain the reasons as to why certain NHs are more prone to road accidents and if so, the details thereof, and
- (d) the steps taken to reduce the road accidents on those National Highways?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

(SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a) to (d) A statement is laid on the table of the House.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.134

## ANSWERED ON 10 TH  FEBRUARY, 2022

## ROAD ACCIDENTS

*134. MS. RAMYA HARIDAS:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  to  (d)  OF  THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 134 ANSWERED ON 10.02.2022  ASKED  BY  MS.  RAMYA  HARIDAS  REGARDING ' ROAD ACCIDENTS '

- (a)  &  (b)  As  per  the  data  received  from  police  department  of  all States/UTs,  total  number  of  Road  Accidents  on  National  Highways (including on Expressways) State wise in the country during the calendar years 2018 to 2020 is at Annexure A.
- (c) Road Accidents occur due to multiple causes such as over speeding, drunken driving/consumption of alcohol, driving on wrong side/lane indiscipline, fault of the driver of motor vehicle, use of mobile phones during driving, mechanical defect/fault of the vehicle defect in road condition, weather condition and lack of knowledge on road signage and poor geometrics of roads, non- existing of VUPs, street lights, crash barrier etc which form black spots. These various factors can broadly be categorized  into  human  error,  road  condition/environment/Engineering and vehicular condition that lead to accidents on roads
- (d)  Steps taken to reduce the road accidents on National Highways are detailed at Annexure-B

## ANNEXURE-A

## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN STATEMENT PARTS (a) & (b) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 134 FOR 10.02.2022 ASKED BY MS. RAMYA HARIDAS ' ROAD ACCIDENTS '

## Total Number of Road Accidents on National Highways*: 2018 to 2020

| Sr No   | States/UTs        |   Total Number of Road Accidents on National Highways during |   Total Number of Road Accidents on National Highways during |   Total Number of Road Accidents on National Highways during |
|---------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|
|         |                   |                                                         2018 |                                                         2019 |                                                         2020 |
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh    |                                                         8122 |                                                         7682 |                                                         7167 |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh |                                                           89 |                                                           95 |                                                           67 |
| 3       | Assam             |                                                         3963 |                                                         3988 |                                                         2963 |
| 4       | Bihar             |                                                         4016 |                                                         4526 |                                                         4101 |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh      |                                                         3995 |                                                         3811 |                                                         3463 |
| 6       | Goa               |                                                         1425 |                                                         1244 |                                                          787 |
| 7       | Gujarat           |                                                         3997 |                                                         3511 |                                                         3234 |
| 8       | Haryana           |                                                         4358 |                                                         3442 |                                                         3039 |
| 9       | Himachal Pradesh  |                                                         1455 |                                                         1396 |                                                         1045 |
| 10      | Jammu & Kashmir   |                                                         2118 |                                                         2081 |                                                         1512 |
| 11      | Jharkhand         |                                                         1616 |                                                         2074 |                                                         1772 |
| 12      | Karnataka         |                                                        13638 |                                                        13363 |                                                        11230 |
| 13      | Kerala            |                                                         9161 |                                                         9459 |                                                         6594 |
| 14      | Madhya Pradesh    |                                                         9967 |                                                        10440 |                                                         9866 |
| 15      | Maharashtra       |                                                         9355 |                                                         8360 |                                                         6501 |
| 16      | Manipur           |                                                          329 |                                                          395 |                                                          273 |
| 17      | Meghalaya         |                                                          118 |                                                          325 |                                                          128 |
| 18      | Mizoram           |                                                           23 |                                                           21 |                                                           25 |
| 19      | Nagaland          |                                                          244 |                                                          235 |                                                          309 |
| 20      | Odisha            |                                                         4207 |                                                         4148 |                                                         3673 |
| 21      | Punjab            |                                                         2821 |                                                         2423 |                                                         2032 |
| 22      | Rajasthan         |                                                         6726 |                                                         6883 |                                                         5764 |
| 23      | Sikkim            |                                                           64 |                                                           59 |                                                           37 |
| 24      | Tamil Nadu        |                                                        19583 |                                                        17633 |                                                        15269 |
| 25      | Telangana         |                                                         6487 |                                                         7352 |                                                         6820 |
| 26      | Tripura           |                                                          188 |                                                          248 |                                                          184 |
| 27      | Uttarakhand       |                                                          816 |                                                          662 |                                                          524 |
| 28      | Uttar Pradesh     |                                                        16198 |                                                        16181 |                                                        13695 |

| 29   | West Bengal               | 4071   |   3537 | 3338   |
|------|---------------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| 30   | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 93 71  |     42 |        |
| 31   | Chandigarh                | 46     |     36 | 15     |
| 32   | Dadra & Nagar Haveli      | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 33   | Daman & Diu               | 0      |      0 |        |
| 34   | Delhi                     | 783    |    857 | 460    |
| 35   | Lakshadweep               | 0      |      0 | 0      |
| 36   | Puducherry                | 771    |    653 | 567    |
|      | Total                     | 140843 | 137191 | 116496 |

* Includes expressways

## ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  STATEMENT  PARTS  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 134 FOR 10.02.2022 ASKED BY MS. RAMYA HARIDAS REGARDING ' ROAD ACCIDENTS '

Based on Road accidents data collected by police department and compile by Transport Research Wing (TRW) of this Ministry. Ministry    has defined Protocol for identification of Blackspot as per the circular no. RW/NH-15017/109/2015-P&M (RSCE) Dated 28.10.2015.As  per     this  circular,  Road  Accident  Black-spot  is  a stretch of National Highway of   about 500 m in Length   in which either 5 road accidents (in all   three years put together involving [fatalities /grievous injuries) took place   during the Last3 calendar years or 10 fatalities (in all three years put   together) took place during the Last 3 calendar years.

Further Ministry vide letter dated 9 th  September 2021 has written to Chief Secretaries of all the States,  Principal Secretaries/Secretaries/ All engineers-In Chief and Chief Engineers of (Public Works Department)  of  all  the  States,  Director  General  (Border  Roads), Chairman (NHAI), Managing Director (NHIDCL), All CE-ROs/SE-ROs and ELOs  of  the  Ministry  and  all  Project  Directors  of  Ministry  to  take advance action for removal of accident spots on National highways as per police reports without waiting for converting them into black spots after accidents/fatalities.

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has notified 'Member of Parliaments' 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 distr ict.

Hon'ble Supreme Court vide the judgment dated 22/4/2014 passed in WP (C) No. 295/2012 titled as 'S. Rajaseekaran v. Union of India & Ors.' had constituted a committee under the Chairmanship of Hon'ble (Retd.) Mr. Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan, Judge, Supreme Court of India w.e.f. 15.05.2014 to undertake the process of monitoring on behalf of this Hon'ble Court.

Further vide the order dated 14.01.2020 passed in the above mentioned matter the Hon'ble (Retd.) Mr. Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan, Chairman,

## i.

and Mr. S. Sunder, member were relieved from the committee due to reasons mentioned in the order and new chairman Hon'ble (Retd.) Mr. Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre was appointed along with Mr. Sanjay Mitra as member. The Committee has issued suitable directions to all States for compliance from time to time and further that a road safety audit is underway and reports are expected shortly. The Audit of road safety  has  been  set  up  for  monitoring  the  compliance  as  per  the direction of this Hon'ble Court's Committee on Road Safety.

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has notified constitution of the National Road Safety Board, along with Rules thereof, on 3rd September,  2021.  The  Board  shall  be  responsible  for  promoting road  safety,  innovation  and  adoption  of  new  technology  and  for regulating traffic and motor vehicles .

Further,  the  Ministry  has  formulated  a  multi-pronged  strategy  to address the issue of road safety based on Education, Engineering (both of roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care. Accordingly, various initiatives have been taken by the Ministry as detailed below:-

## Education:

- a. The Ministry implements a scheme for undertaking publicity measures  and  awareness  campaigns  on  road  safety  to  create awareness  among  road  users  through  the  electronic  media,  print media, NGOs etc.
- b. Observance  of  National  Road  Safety  Month/Week  every  year  for spreading awareness and strengthening road safety.
- c. A Certification Course for Road Safety Auditors has been commenced in Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE).
- ii. Engineering (both of Roads and vehicles)
- Road engineering:
- a. High priority to identification and rectification of black spots (accident prone spots) on national highways.
- b. Road safety has been made an integral part of road design at planning stage.
- c. Ministry  has  delegated  powers  to  Regional  Officers  of  MORTH  for technical  approval  to  the  detailed  estimates  for  rectification  of identified Road Accident black spots.
- d. Guidelines for pedestrian facilities on National Highways for persons with disabilities have also been issued to all States / UTs.
- e. This Ministry and IRC has issued various Codes and Guidelines, time to time, to implement various road safety measures so as to minimize accidents on National Highways. Also, Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, during various meetings, has issued direction to various State  Governments  for  implementation  of  Road  Safety  measures including Engineering measures .
- f. Ministry  has  already  issued  instructions  vide  circular  no.  RW/NH29011/11/2015-P&M(RSCE)  dated  4th  July,  2018  to  carry  out  Road Safety Audit at the Design stage on all road projects. It is further, advised that Road Safety Audit of all the National Highways may be carried out and follow up action may  also be taken up for implementation of the Road Safety Audit recommendations appropriately.
- g. All the executing agencies are requested to ensure safety provisions for highways during construction. Necessary action is to be taken to ensure provision of road signages, construction of diversion roads and other requisite provisions as per NH standard 1 guidelines. IRC has already issued IRC:SP:55-2014 regarding Guidelines on Traffic Management in work zones. Safety of road users is to be ensured to avoid any unwanted incident where construction works are going on.
- Vehicle engineering:
- a. Safety standards for automobiles have been improved in respect of Airbags,  Anti-Breaking  System  (ABS),  Tyres,  Crash  test,  Whole Vehicle Safety Conformity of Production (WVSCoP).
- b. Ministry has notified fitment of Speed Limiting devices on all transport vehicles.
- c. Scheme for setting up one model Inspection & Certification Centre in each  State/UT  with  Central  assistance  for  testing  the  fitness  of vehicles through an automated system.

## iii. Enforcement

- a. The recently passed motor vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 provides for strict enforcement through use of technology and further provides for  strict  penalties  for  ensuring  strict  compliance  and  enhancing deterrence for violation of traffic rules.
- b. Issue of Guidelines for protection of Good Samaritans and draft rules as per MV (Amendment) Act, 2019 has been published.
- iv. Emergency care:
- a. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 provides for a scheme for the cashless treatment of victims of the accident during the golden hour.
- b. The  National  Highways  Authority  of  India  has  made  provisions  for ambulances at all toll plazas on the completed corridor of National Highways.
- c. Further, 297 ambulances have been upgraded to Basic Life Support as per AIS-125.

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