Lok Sabha Question No. 2921 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-12
Subject: Audit of Road Designs
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Shri Dharmendra Yadav

## be pleased to state:

- (a)    whether the poor condition of roads, laxity in enforcement, unsafe vehicles and stray animals cause more than 9,00,000 deaths and injuries every year;
- (b)    if  so, the details thereof particularly of Uttar Pradesh along with the action plan prepared to reduce road accidents, State-wise;
- (c)    whether the safety audit or road designs is grossly ignored before starting construction;
- (d)    if so, the details thereof;
- (e)      whether design audits conducted by the authorities are likely to reduce accidents by at least twenty five per cent;
- (f)     if so, the reaction of the Government thereto and the action taken in this regard;
- (g)    whether the Government has taken steps to reduce the number of blind spots on roads to ensure road safety of the citizens; and
- (h)    if so, the success achieved so far?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

(a) and (b)   As per the data received from the States/UTs, road accidents occur due to multiple causes such as over speeding, use of mobile phone, drunken driving/consumption of alcohol and drug, driving on  wrong  side/  lane  indiscipline,  jumping  red  light,  non-use  of  safety devices such as helmets and seat belts, vehicular condition, weather condition, road condition etc.

As  per  the  report  published  by  the  Central  Government  on  Road Accidents in India, 2022, based on data received from States/UTs, total number of road accident fatalities and injuries on all kinds of roads in the  country  in  the  calendar  year  2022  were  1,68,491  and  4,43,366 respectively. State-wise details of the same is given at Annexure-I.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2921 ANSWERED ON 12 TH  DECEMBER, 2024

## AUDIT OF ROAD DESIGNS

## 2921.         SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

The  Government  has  formulated  a  multi-pronged  strategy  to  address the issue of road safety based on 4E's i.e. Education, Engineering (both of  roads  and  vehicles),  Enforcement  and  Emergency  Care.   Various initiatives undertaken by the Government to reduce road accidents in the country are detailed at Annexure-II.

- (c) to (f) The Central  Government  in  Ministry  of  Road  Transport  and Highways is mandated with the task of constructing  and  maintaining National Highways whereas States/UTs construct, maintain and manage State Highways & other roads.  Road Safety is an integral and indispensable  component  of  every  National  Highways  Project.  Road Safety initiatives on National Highways commence with the inception of Detailed Project report as road safety audit of all National Highways projects has been made mandatory at all stages i.e. design, construction, operation & maintenance through third party auditors/experts. Road Safety Audit has been completed for 31,423 km of  NH  in  FY  22-23  and  around  42,013  Kms  of  NH  in  FY  23-24.  During current FY 2024-25, around 15329 KMs of NH has been audited (as on 30.09.2024).
- (g) and (h) The Government has accorded high priority to identification and  rectification  of  black  spots/accident  spots  on  National  Highways based on the road accident data provided by the States/UTs.A total of 13,795 black spots have been identified on the National Highways.

Government takes short-term and long-term remedial measures as per site requirement. Out of the 13,795 black spots, short-term rectification measures  have  been  completed  on  9,525  black  spots  and  long-term rectification measures have been completed on 4,777 black spots.

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  and  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2921 ANSWERED ON 12 TH  DECEMBER, 2024 ASKED BY SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV REGARDING AUDIT OF ROAD DESIGNS.

## State-wise details of road accident fatalities and injuries for the Calendar Year 2022

| S. No.            | States/UTs                           | No. of fatalitiesNo. of injuries   | No. of fatalitiesNo. of injuries   |
|-------------------|--------------------------------------|------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 1                 | Andhra Pradesh                       | 8,293                              | 21340                              |
| 2                 | Arunachal Pradesh                    | 148                                | 186                                |
| 3                 | Assam                                | 2,994                              | 5637                               |
| 4                 | Bihar                                | 8,898                              | 7068                               |
| 5                 | Chhattisgarh                         | 5,834                              | 11695                              |
| 6                 | Goa                                  | 271                                | 1091                               |
| 7                 | Gujarat                              | 7,618                              | 15089                              |
| 8                 | Haryana                              | 4,915                              | 8519                               |
| 9                 | Himachal Pradesh                     | 1,032                              | 4063                               |
| 10                | Jharkhand                            | 3,898                              | 3747                               |
| 11                | Karnataka                            | 11,702                             | 48154                              |
| 12                | Kerala                               | 4,317                              | 49307                              |
| 13                | Madhya Pradesh                       | 13,427                             | 55168                              |
| 14                | Maharashtra                          | 15,224                             | 27239                              |
| 15                | Manipur                              | 127                                | 817                                |
| 16                | Meghalaya                            | 162                                | 310                                |
| 17                | Mizoram                              | 113                                | 107                                |
| 18                | Nagaland                             | 73                                 | 291                                |
| 19                | Odisha                               | 5,467                              | 10302                              |
| 20                | Punjab                               | 4,756                              | 3324                               |
| 21                | Rajasthan                            | 11,104                             | 22293                              |
| 22                | Sikkim                               | 92                                 | 354                                |
| 23                | Tamil Nadu                           | 17,884                             | 67703                              |
| 24                | Telangana                            | 7,559                              | 20209                              |
| 25                | Tripura                              | 241                                | 541                                |
| 26                | Uttarakhand                          | 1,042                              | 1613                               |
| 27                | Uttar Pradesh                        | 22,595                             | 28541                              |
| 28                | West Bengal                          | 6,002                              | 12843                              |
| 29                | Andaman & Nicobar Islands            | 19                                 | 136                                |
| 30                | Chandigarh                           | 83                                 | 203                                |
| 31                | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 90                                 | 273                                |
| 32                | Delhi                                | 1,461                              | 5201                               |
| 33                | Jammu & Kashmir                      | 805                                | 8372                               |
| 34                | Ladakh                               | 62                                 | 346                                |
| 35                | Lakshadweep                          | 2                                  | 2                                  |
| 36                | Puducherry                           | 181                                | 1282                               |
| Total (all India) | Total (all India)                    | 1,68,491                           | 4,43,366                           |

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  and  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2921 ANSWERED ON 12 TH  DECEMBER, 2024 ASKED BY SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV REGARDING AUDIT OF ROAD DESIGNS.

Details of various initiatives under taken by the Government in Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to address the issue of Road Safety: -

## (1)        Education:

- i.             Administers  Road  Safety  Advocacy  Scheme  to  provide financial  assistance  to  various  agencies  for  raising  awareness about road safety and for administering road safety programs.
- ii.         Observance of National Road Safety Month/Week every year for spreading awareness and strengthening road safety.
- iii.        Administers a scheme for setting up of Institutes of Driving Training  &  Research  (IDTRs),  Regional  Driving  Training  Centres (RDTCs) and Driving Training Centres (DTCs) at state/district level across the Country.

## (2)          Engineering :

## 2.1.    Road engineering:

- i.        Road  Safety  Audit  (RSA)  of  all  National  Highways  (NHs)  has been made mandatory through third party auditors/ experts at all stages i.e. design, construction, operation and maintenance etc.
- ii.      High  priority is  accorded to identification and rectification of black spots /accident spots on NHs.
- iii.          Road  Safety  Officer  (RSO)  has  been  designated  at  each Regional Office of road owning agencies under the Ministry to look after RSA and other road safety related works.
- iv.        Administers the electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) Project to establish a central repository for reporting, management and analysis of road accidents data across the Country.
- v. Issued guidelines for the provision of signages on Expressways  and  National  Highways  to  offer  improved  visibility and intuitive guidance to the drivers.
- vi.        Provisions have been made in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 design, Central
7. for failure to comply with standards for the road construction and maintenance, as prescribed by the Government from time to time.

## 2.2    Vehicle engineering:

Various  initiatives  were  undertaken  to  make  vehicles  safer,  including the following:-

- 
- i.          Mandatory provision of an airbag for the passenger seated on the front seat of a vehicle, next to the driver.
- ii.            Prescribed  norms  related  to  safety  measures  for  children below four years of age, riding or being carried on a motor cycle. It also specifies use of a safety harness, crash helmet and restricts speed to 40kmph.
- iii.            Mandatory  provisions for fitment of following listed safety technologies: -

## For M1 category vehicles:

- Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) for driver and co-driver.
-  Manual Override for central locking system
-  Over speed warning system.

## For all M and N category vehicles:

-  Reverse Parking Alert System
- iv.            Mandated  Anti-Lock  Braking  System  (ABS)  for  certain classes of L [Motor vehicle with less than four wheels and includes a Quadricycle], M [Motor vehicles with at least four wheels used for carrying  passengers]  and  N  [Motor  vehicles  with  at  least  four wheels used for carrying  goods  which  may  also  carry  persons  in addition to goods, subject to conditions stipulated in BIS standards] categories.
- v.            Mandated  speed  limiting  function/speed  limiting  device  in all  transport  vehicles,  except  for  two  wheelers,  three  wheelers, quadricycles, fire tenders, ambulances and police vehicles.
- vi.        Published the rules for recognition, regulation and control of Automated Testing Stations, which define the procedure for fitness testing of vehicles through automated equipment and the procedure for grant of fitness certificate by ATSs. The rules have been further amended on 31.10.2022 and 14.03.2024.
- vii. Formulated the Vehicle Scrapping Policy based on incentives/dis-incentives  and  for  creating  an  ecosystem  to  phase out old, unfit and polluting vehicles.
- viii.         A  Scheme  to  set  up  one  model  Inspection  &  Certification Centre  in  each  State/UT  with  Central  assistance  for  testing  the fitness of vehicles through an automated system.
- ix.         Published rules regarding the Bharat New Car Assessment Program  (BNCAP)  to  introduce  the  concept  of  safety  rating  of passenger cars and empower consumers to take informed decisions.
- x.          Published  rules  regarding  prescribed  level  playing  field  in the area of manufacturing of buses by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Bus Body Builders.
- xi.          Mandated vehicles, manufactured on or after 1st October, 2025, shall be fitted with an air-conditioning system for the cabin of vehicles of N2 (goods vehicle with gross vehicle weight exceeding
- 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12.0 tonnes) and N3  (goods vehicle with gross vehicle weight exceeding 12.0 tonnes) category.

xii.       Published  rules  for  revision  of  standards  for  Safety  Belt, Restraint Systems and Safety Belt Reminder to provide provisions for  applicability  of  revised  standards  for  safety  belt  assemblies, safety  belt  anchorages  and  the  installation  of  Safety  Belts  and Restraint Systems, in Motor vehicles of category M,N and L7 w.e.f. 01st April, 2025. Further, the vehicles of category M1, manufactured  on  and  after  the  1st  April  2025,  shall  meet  the requirement of safety belt reminder for all front facing rear seats as per AIS-145-2018.

## (3)        Enforcement:

- i.            The  Motor  Vehicles  (Amendment)  Act,  2019  as  stands implemented provides for strict penalties for ensuring compliance and  enhancing  deterrence  for  violation  of  traffic  rules  and  strict enforcement through use of technology.

ii.             Issued  rules  for  Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety. The rules specify the detailed provisions for placement of electronic enforcement devices on high risk & high density  corridors  on  National  Highways,  State  Highways  and critical  junctions  in  Million  plus  cities  in  India  and  cities  under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

iii.        On 10 th  June, 2024, has issued an advisory to all the States and  Union  territories  on  technological  interventions  for  ensuring compliance with Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.

## (4)        Emergency care:

- i.    Published  rules  for  the  protection  of  Good  Samaritan,  who  in good  faith,  voluntarily  and  without  expectation  of  any  reward  or compensation renders emergency medical or non-medical care or assistance at the scene of an accident to the victim or transports such victim to the hospital.

ii.    Enhanced  compensation  of  victims  of  Hit  and  Run  motor accidents (from Rs.12,500 to Rs.50,000 for grievous hurt and from Rs.25,000 to Rs.2,00,000 for death).

iii.   The National Highways Authority of India has made provisions for ambulances with paramedical staff/Emergency Medical Technician/Nurse  at  toll  plazas  on  the  completed  corridor  of National Highways.

- iv.   Ministry  of  Road  Transport  &  Highways  along  with  National Health  Authority  (NHA),  has  implemented  a  pilot  program  for providing  cashless  treatment  to  victims  of  road  accidents  in Chandigarh Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Puducherry and Assam.

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