Lok Sabha Question No. 22 (STARRED), answered on 2016-02-25
Subject: Action Plan to Minimize the Road Accidents
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: PRATAPRAO GANPATRAO JADHAV, LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 22

ANSWERED ON 25 TH   FEBRUARY 2016

## ACTION PLAN TO MINIMIZE THE ROAD ACCIDENTS

## *22.     SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV: SHRI LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

be pleased to state:

(a)  the  number  of  road  accidents  taken  place  in  the  country  during  each  of  the  last  three years, State/UT-wise;

(b)  whether  any  comparative  study  conducted  with  regard  to  pattern  of  road  accidents reported in the developed and other developing countries, if so, the details thereof;

(c) the main reasons attributed to high incidence of road accidents in the country along with the efforts being made to check road accidents in the country;

- (d) the details of compensation paid to the victims; and

(e)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  revise  amount  the  compensation  being  paid  at present and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

(a) to (e) A statement  is laid on the table of the  house.

STATEMENT REFFERED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED    QUESTION  NO.  22  ANSWERED  ON  25.02.2016  ASKED  BY  SHRI PRATAPRAO  JADHAV  AND  SHRI  LAXMI  NARAYAN  YADAV  REGARDING ACTION PLAN TO MINIMIZE THE ROAD ACCIDENTS.

- (a) Around 5,00,000 road accidents occur every year with a loss of more than 1,30,000 lives  in  the  country.  States  /  Union  Territory-wise  details  of  the  number  of  road  accidents taken place in the country  during the last three years is   at annex.
- (b)  No, Madam.
- (c) The factors responsible for road accidents are  drivers' fault, fault of drivers of other vehicles,  defect in condition of motor vehicle, fault of pedestrian, weather conditions, etc. Also, faulty road engineering, lack of road information like signages, signals, road marking, inadequate planning for pedestrian crossings, underpasses are important reasons for the road accidents. Lack of capacity augmentation on national highways which constitute only 2% of the total road length in the country but carry 40% of total traffic, is also a reason.

Reducing road accidents fatalities by  50% by 2020 is the target set by the Government along with other member countries of the United Nations Organization. The Ministry of Road Transport  and  Highways  has  taken  a  number  of  steps  to  prevent  such  road  accidents  as  per details mentioned under:

- i. 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.
- ii. The Government has constituted the National Road Safety Council as the apex body to take policy decisions in matters of road safety.
- iii. The Ministry has requested all States/UTs for setting up of State Road Safety Council and District Road Safety Committees, and to hold their meetings regularly.
- iv. 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.
- v. Road safety has been made an integral part of road design at planning stage.
- vi. Road Safety Audit of selected stretches of National Highways has been taken up.
- vii. High  priority  has  been  accorded  to  identification  and  rectification  of  black  spots (accident prone spots) on national highways. Around 700 such black spots have been identified for improvement.
- viii. 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.
- ix. Setting  up  of  model  driving  training  institutes  in  States  and  refresher  training  to drivers of Heavy Motor Vehicle in the unorganized sector.
- x. Advocacy/Publicity campaign on road safety through the electronic and print media.
- xi. Tightening of safety standards for vehicles like Seat Belts, Power-steering, anti-lock braking system etc.
- xii. Providing  cranes  and  ambulances  to  various  State  Governments  under  the  National Highway Accident Relief Service  Scheme  for  development  on  National  Highways. National Highways Authority of India also provides ambulances at a distance of 50 Km. on each of its completed stretches of National Highways under its Operation & Maintenance contracts.
- xiii. Launch of pilot projects for providing cashless treatment of road accident victims on Gurgaon  -  Jaipur,  Vadodara  -  Mumbai  stretch  of  National  Highways  No.  8  and Ranchi - Rargaon - Mahulia stretch of National Highway No. 33. Ministry of Road Transport & Highways intends to extend the implementation of cashless treatment of road accident victims on North - South Corridor, East - West Corridor and Golden Quadrilateral.
14. (d) The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provides for compensation to Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) or Civil Court, as the case may be, on the principle of fault/negligence of the  driver  of  the  vehicle  causing  the  accident.  In  such  cases,  MACT  or  the  Courts  award compensation on the merits of each case. Setting up of these courts comes within the purview of the respective State Governments.
15. (e) Ministry of Road Transport and Highways  has  drafted  'The Road Transport and Safety  Bill,  '  to  replace  existing  'Motor  Vehicles  Act,  1988'  which  inter  alia  proposes enhanced compensation  through third party  insurance  and  also  envisages  the  creation  of  a 'Crash Fund' for the purpose.

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a)  OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION  NO.  22  ANSWERED  ON  25.02.2016  ASKED  BY  SHRI  PRATAPRAO JADHAV AND SHRI LAXMI NARAYAN YADAV REGARDING ACTION PLAN TO MINIMIZE THE ROAD ACCIDENTS.

Total Number of Road Accidents during the calendar years

| S. No.   | State/UT                 | 2012   | 2013   |   2014 |
|----------|--------------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh           | 42524  | 43482  |  24440 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh        | 251    | 308    |    205 |
| 3        | Assam                    | 6535   | 7211   |   7144 |
| 4        | Bihar                    | 10320  | 10200  |   9556 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh             | 13511  | 13657  |  13821 |
| 6        | Goa                      | 4312   | 4294   |   4229 |
| 7        | Gujarat                  | 27949  | 25391  |  23712 |
| 8        | Haryana                  | 10065  | 10482  |  10676 |
| 9        | Himachal Pradesh         | 2899   | 2981   |   3058 |
| 10       | Jammu &Kashmir           | 6709   | 6457   |   5861 |
| 11       | Jharkhand                | 5711   | 5569   |   5201 |
| 12       | Karnataka                | 44448  | 44020  |  43713 |
| 13       | Kerala                   | 36174  | 35215  |  36282 |
| 14       | Madhya Pradesh           | 51210  | 51810  |  53472 |
| 15       | Maharashtra              | 66316  | 63019  |  61627 |
| 16       | Manipur                  | 771    | 671    |    743 |
| 17       | Meghalaya                | 483    | 525    |    542 |
| 18       | Mizoram                  | 110    | 114    |    132 |
| 19       | Nagaland                 | 42     | 71     |    305 |
| 20       | Odisha                   | 9285   | 9680   |   9648 |
| 21       | Punjab                   | 6341   | 6323   |   6391 |
| 22       | Rajasthan                | 22969  | 23592  |  24628 |
| 23       | Sikkim                   | 158    | 244    |    203 |
| 24       | Tamil Nadu               | 67757  | 66238  |  67250 |
| 25       | Telangana                | NA     | NA     |  20078 |
| 26       | Tripura                  | 888    | 818    |    716 |
| 27       | Uttarakhand              | 1472   | 1297   |   1410 |
| 28       | Uttar Pradesh            | 29972  | 30615  |  31034 |
| 29       | West Bengal              | 12290  | 12414  |  12875 |
| 30       | Andaman &Nicobar Islands | 236    | 200    |    218 |
| 31       | Chandigarh               | 419    | 410    |    369 |
| 32       | Dadra &Nagar Haveli      | 85     | 91     |     87 |
| 33       | Daman &Diu               | 50     | 59     |     39 |
| 34       | Delhi                    | 6937   | 7566   |   8623 |
| 35       | Lakshadweep              | 3      | 1      |      1 |
| 36       | Puducherry               | 1181   | 1451   |   1111 |
|          | Total                    | 490383 | 486476 | 489400 |