Page 34 - TrafficInfratech Magazine Feb - Mar 2020

SAFETY

Stronger institutions for safer roads:

The Indian example

India needs a well resourced and
empowered national road safety agency – a

central unit that would coordinate the efforts
of all stakeholders, writes Justin Runji,
Senior Transport Specialist, World Bank

ndia is facing a growing road safety outcomes. While implementation road safety standards and procedures
safety crisis: over the last decade, of road safety rests primarily with across the state, and of overseeing the
road fatalities have increased the respective State Governments, implementation of all laws relating to
significantly to reach 22.6 per India’s Ministry of Road Transport and road safety—a mandate that goes far
I100,000 population (2016 WHO Highways would benefit from a cross- beyond the advisory and coordination
estimates). That means almost 300,000 sectoral nodal road safety agency with role of other state agencies. Notably,
people lose their lives on Indian roads the mandate to guide and ensure GUJROSA can hold any public official,
every year—a tragedy for the victims’ consistency in policy interpretation public or private entity or institution
families, and a serious burden on and application, better coordination, accountable for non-compliance
socioeconomic development. monitoring and evaluation, national with its orders. The Authority is
The country has taken several goal setting, and follow-ups. composed primarily of key public
commendable initiatives to stop the At the state level, road management sector stakeholders, but also includes
carnage, including a road safety responsibilities have generally been a non-governmental body, the West
policy based on the 4-Es: Education, shared among individual agencies India Automobile Association, as well
Engineering, Enforcement, and that each focus on specific areas as two independent experts in road
Emergency care. Also notable is the such as traffic management, road safety. Most of GUJROSA’s budget will
application of UN regulations on infrastructure, transport, and health, come from the Gujarat Road Safety
vehicle standards (UNECE WP. 29) often with little coordination. Although Fund, which is supported primarily
which encourage vehicle manufacturers three different states have established through traffic violation fees and state
to apply technologies such as safer their own lead agencies—Tamil Nadu, government allocations. This is another
bumpers, bonnets, and windshields, to Karnataka, and Kerala—these have remarkable feature that provides the
reduce the risks to pedestrians. limited power and resources and have agency with a great deal independence
One important tool that is missing been confined mostly to an advisory and flexibility.
from this arsenal, however, is a well- and monitoring role. The collaboration between the World
resourced and empowered national A fourth state, Gujarat, recently Bank and Gujarat State played a key
road safety agency – a central unit created its own agency, but decided to part in the creation of the agency.
that would coordinate the efforts take a different approach. The Gujarat Back in 2012, with the support of the
of all stakeholders and assume full Road Safety Authority (GUJROSA) is in World Bank-led Global Road Safety
responsibility on the country’s road charge of prescribing and enforcing Facility, a Road Safety Management

34 February-March 2020 / TrafficInfraTech www.trafficinfratech-com-500653.hostingersite.com