CHAPTER - 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1

GENERAL
India has a unique feature of unity in diversity, wide range of topography from

plains of Rajasthan to mountainous terrain of Himalayas and diverse climatic conditions. Burgeoning population of more than one billion necessitated new strategy of development of infrastructure for movement of goods and passenger traffic by road, rail, seaports and inland waterways. Roads occupy a place of importance in any economy because of their unique characteristics and distinctive features of connecting interior places, with its network for carrying persons and goods. India has one of the largest road network in the world and the network has rapidly expanded in the last several years i.e. from 6,80,000 km in year to 12,00,000 km in year 1995. Increase in traffic brings out extremely severe problems of road traffic accidents. The impact of road traffic accidents in terms of injuries, impairments and fatalities are global social and public health problems. World wide, the number of fatalities and serious injuries due to road accidents is very high and steadily increasing. To minimise the risk and severity of accidents, and to inculcate the importance of safety in highway design, adopting Safety Audit on road network is necessary.

1.2

ACCIDENT SCENARIO The recorded annual number of road accidents in India is 3,15,657 (Ministry

of Surface Transport, 1996) though due to relatively low level of reporting, this is likely to be only a fraction of the actual number of collisions between road users on the country's network. The published number of road accident fatalities in the country in 1994 is 64,002 with 3,12,080 injured in this single year. India has 1 % of the world's vehicle population but 6% of World's reported road traffic accidents occur here. The situation in India is rapidly worsening as shown in Fig. 1.1 Road accident fatalities and casualties have been increasing dramatically over the past Twenty years. This is partly due to the way in which the no. of vehicles on the road is increasing. Nearly 75-80% road accidents cases in India involve pedestrians, cyclists and two wheeler riders. On Indian roads, mostly heavy vehicles like trucks and buses are primary vehicles in road traffic accidents (around 4060% cases). Road traffic accidents are more concentrated on the National Highways, which form less than 2% of the total length in India but are responsible for 34% road fatalities occurring in India due to high volume of traffic etc. Accident prevention can be enhanced by the application of Road Safety Auditing over the road network.

1.3

WHAT IS ROAD SAFETY?

1.3.1 Road Safety Abroad Road Safety is now seen as an important responsibility of road authorities in most industrialized countries and many countries now require their road authorities to be pro active in reducing the number of deaths and injuries on their road network. This is often done as part of wider raining efforts to achieve national targets in causalties or death reduction. The UK for example places statutory responsibility on all its road authorities (National, Country and Municipal level) to improve road safety on their road networks. This require them to analyse accident data to identify trends, road users at risks, accident black spots etc. at each level and to then develop and implement appropriate counter measures to improve safety on their networks. In each UK Road Engineering Department, there are small road safety units who work full 3

time in road safety issues. They usually have their own staff and earmarked budgets typically US $ 0.4 to 1.0 million per year) for implementing safety improvements and are required to produce an annual road safety plan indicating how they intent to improve safety. Central Govt. offers incentives by part financing some improvements schemes to encourage activities in this area. Govt. of Australia, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, USA and many other industrialized countries also finance full time specialists to address safetyengineering issues. The specific arrangements varies slightly country by country but basically all industrialized countries now recognize the need to have small specialist team of professional fully resourced and working full time within road authorities on road safety issues. This approach of specialists safety units as each level of roads authority has proved highly effective in reducing road death in industrialized countries and is well worth considering in India.

1.3.2 Road Safety in India Unlike the more industrialized countries, the different agencies in India involved in road safety management have limited coordination. The lack of cooperation is not only confined to the planning and development stages, but is also conspicuously reflected in the day to day execution. Road accidents are a matter of great personal tragedy, tremendous social and private property. Although, acknowledgement of the problem has existed for some time, the attempts to improve road safety have been half hearted and not focused on

the problem. As early as the 1970s, the Planning Commission had accepted road safety as a plan subject and allocates specific funds to Delhi. For the first time specific funds are being earmarked for each state for road safety works on National Highways in Ninth Five Year Plan. It covers broad items like engineering improvements, traffic control devices and wayside amenities. In order to make judicious and full use of these funds, it is essential to have a coordinated institutional framework. In our country the role of highway community towards road safety is not defined. Safety is still considered as exterior control system rather than an integral part of design and operational processes. Although some lip services is being given to the importance of highway safety, this activity typically has not been organisationally integrated and therefore has not been overly effective. Pavement failure get attention from the engineers but road facilities is not investigated from any engineering deficiency point of view. With regards to awareness, there is virtually no formal training or formal on-job training in highway safety.

1.4

NEED OF THE STUDY The rate of road accidents in our country is accident per minute with one death

in every 7.5 minutes. The road accidents are taking huge toll on human life and passing trauma to thousands of families. Much greater proportion of productive life is carried away by these road accidents then any other cause of natural death. The country is loosing about Rs. 6000 crores annually due to these road accidents and loosing additional Rs. 5000 crores for vehicular damages, road repairs and additional consumption of fuels due to various traffic hindrances on the road. To minimize such

a huge loss it is very much essential to study the road safety aspect to reduce the accidents which will ultimately reduce the losses.

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 PROBLEMS OF HIGHWAY SECTOR IN INDIA 2.1.1 Present Road System India has about 3.3 million Kms. of road network, which is the second largest in the world. The length of 6

A.

B. C. D.

various types of roads in India (as on April, 2000) is as under: Inter Urban roads i. National Highways 52,000 Kms. ii. State Highways 1,28,000 Kms. iii. Major District Roads 2,70,000 Kms. Rural Roads i. Other District Roads and Village Roads 1,50,000 Kms. ii. JRY Roads 9,20,000 Kms. Urban Roads (under local authorities, CPWD, 2,00,000 Kms. MES, etc. Project Roads (Project agencies, such as, Forest, Irrigation & State Electricity Boards etc. Total : 2,30,000 Kms.

33,00,000 Kms

The growth of National Highways since independence is given in the Table-2.1 In can be seen that the expansion of National Highways now has been rather slow, but a lot of expansion has taker place in Rural Road network under various poverty removal programmes, such as IRDP, NREP, RLEGP, DPAP, JRY, etc. As on April, 2000, the status of rural roads is given in Table-2.2. Table-2.1 Growth of National Highways since Independence Year 1947 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 1995 1998 1999 7 Length of National Highways (Kms.) 19,811 21,440 23,798 23,838 31,671 33,650 34,257 38,517 52,010

Table-2.2 Connectivity to Villages by Roads Population Group 1500 & above 1000-1500 Less than 1000 Total Total No. of Villages 71,623 58,229 4,59,465 5,89,317 No. of Villages connected 72,000 52,000 2,50,000 3,74,000 Percent Connected 99% 89% 54% 63%

2.1.2

Inadequacies of Road Network System The country's road system cannot be measured in respect of its length alone.

The quality and level of service provided by the roads is equally important. It is here that the emerging picture is very dismal. The roads in India are under designed, under constructed and under maintained. Nothing else sums up the status of India's road network. The inadequate road pavement thickness, poor road surface quality, old and fatigued bridges and culverts, existence of number of railway crossings inhibiting smooth traffic flow on highways, absence of bypasses to relieve road traffic from city congestion and the absence of road side amenities are the major problems that continue to dog the road sector. Out of the total length of the roads, the share of National Highways is only 52,000 km, i.e. 1.6 per cent. National Highways carry more than 40 per cent of the traffic. The specifications and standards of the National Highways are not upto the mark. We do not have any operational expressways in the country so far for speedy movement of traffic. Only about 5 percent of the National Highway sector is four

laned, 80 per cent two laned and 15 per cent, single laned. The commercial vehicles can run only 200-250 kms per day instead of 600kms in developed countries. The plan public sector outlay has decreased from 6.7 per cent in First Five-Year Plan to only 3 per cent in Eighth Five-Year Plan. By starving this sector of essential funds, precious assets created at huge investments have been left to deteriorate severally which implies further loss to the nation by way of high user cost. It has been estimated that direct economic loss to the country due to bad condition of the main roads is of the order of Rs. 30,000 crores annually apart from opportunity cost environmental cost due to pollution caused by congestion and accident/safety costs. In brief, the main inadequacies of the present National Highways network of India are given as under: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) Inadequate width/No. of carriage ways lanes Missing links/bridges. Inadequate pavement. Inadequate bridges. Inadequate curves/super-elevation. Poor riding quality. Deficient traffic safety provisions. Bottlenecks due to congestion and railway lane crossings. Lack of wayside amenities.

2.1.3 Policy Changes Required 9

Following policy changes are required in the future: (a) Construction Industry should move into organized sector with professional management and qualified/trained employees. (b) Rationalization/removal of excise duties on construction materials and processes to encourage more pre-cast concrete factories. (c) Harmonizing the Indian Standard codes within international practice with a view to reduce wasteful consumption. (d) (e) Standardization of structural members to ensure large scales persisting. Import of construction equipment's free of custom duties. The domestic equipment manufacturers should be able to complete with such imports. (f) Streamline the procedure to encourage participation of Indian construction agencies in overseas contracts. (g) Standardize pre-qualification criteria for Indian construction agencies and allow them to participate on equal footing with expatriate contractors. (h) (i) (j) (k) (l) Streamline the tendering system in line with international practice. Focus on management consultancy. Standardization of general conditions. Introduction of value engineering concepts in the tendering system. The current trend of entrants to engineering institutions, shying away from the Civil Engineering programmes will have to be reversed. Otherwise the industry will not have adequate number of civil engineers during the next decade. 10

(m)

Outdated trade practices need change, Company and labour laws require change.

(n)

Simplification of import and export procedures, custom and excise laws and care in operation of foreign accounts.

(o) (p)

Minimize Govt. control of industry. Foreign participation with 100 per cent equity in BOT/BOOT project as well as in property development.

(q)

Time bound adjudication and arbitration is required so that litigations can be drastically reduced.

(r) (s) (t) (u) (v)

Greater use of Information Technology. High foreign equity and private funding Reduction of subsidies and privatisation of PSUs. Full convertibility of rupee. Influx of modern technology and establishment of "Construction Equipment Banks" leasing companies which will make available the latest equipments.

(w)

Greater emphasis on quality, time bound programmes, incentives for early completion and severe penalties for delay, time and cost overruns.

(x)

Improvements in civil engineering practices, such as, development of technology which can promote use of local materials, use of natural gravel's in place of crushed aggregates, rationalization of concrete mix design resulting in saving of about 10 million tones of cement per annum use of recycled aggregates, etc. 11

2.2

ROAD TRAFFIC SAFETY Parmar, C.M., describe the severity of road accident losses in India and it is

stated that the country loses about Rs. 25000 crores per year on account of human service value due to these road accidents. The author has divided the causes of accident in four categories, viz. Road Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Non cooperation from related agencies and Human negligence & error. The conclusions of the study are as below:(i) It is high time that dedicated, scientific, well-organised efforts are put by all the agencies and the GOs involved to minimise the road accidents and to reduce road fatalities. ii) The various agencies connected with Traffic, Vehicles, Roads, Health, Insurance etc. should join hands for constructive efforts to tackle this ssue with the help of NGOs devoted to the mission of road safety to change this scenario of road accidents. iii) It is essential to minimize the national losses due to this chronic road safety accident problem that this problem must be dealt by highest authority of country. Also cost effective road safety counter measures suited to local problems require to be adopted and realistic road safety goals require to be set up. Sharma, S.C. stated that road users expect highway engineer to provide safe roads. It underscores the need to offer users a coherent and readable road network by adopting appropriate design standards, road makings, signs and effective road 12

operations and traffic control measures that provide the drivers requisite guidance and promote automatic compliance with road safety rules. The main objective is to reduce the number and consequences of accidents, injuries and fatalities. The conclusions are as below:i) There is a need to lay down standards and specifications for various types of road devices and their maintenance so that material of assured quality could be procured and proper maintenance during service ensured. ii) Efficient operation' and control of road traffic is essential for enhancing road safety. Telephones, emergency call boxes located along the road, variable message signs, radio, video display terminals and interactive electronic systems permit the road users and road authorities to communicate directly and to take appropriate measures in the event of congestion, accident or any emergency.

2.3 2.3.1

ROAD SAFETY IN INDIA Current Situation There has been tremendous growth of both road network and road traffic in India. While it is good for the economic and social development of the country, it has brought in its wake the problem of road accidents resulting in injury and fatalities to road users and its own social negative externalities apart from human suffering. The situation is worsening as can be seen from Table 2.3.

13

Table-2.3 Traffic Fatality Scenario Fatalities per thousand vehicles 8.04 6.84 5.27 4.27 2.65 Fatalities ~I per million population 27.36 27.03 41.56 50.76 67.07

Year 1971 1975 1981 1985 1991

Vehicles (million) 1.86 2.47 5.39 9.17 21.37

Population (million) 548 625 683 772 844

Fatalities (thousand) 15.0 16.9 28.4 39.2 56.6

1998 41.22 965 80.0 1.94 82.85 Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRT&H): Motor Vehicle Statistics & Statistics of Road Accidents in India. These data show that the number of fatalities and injuries has continued to increase, on an average by 5 per cent a year over the past two decades. The total number of fatalities and injuries in the year 2003 can be approximated at 96,000 and 400,000 persons respectively. The fatality rate per thousand vehicles has remained around 2 for the past few years, whereas the rate per million populations has continued to increase from 27 in 1971 to 95 in 2003. A summary of fatalities position on different categories of roads during the period 1991 to 1998 is given in Table 2.4. Table: 2.4 Proportion of Fatalities on Road Network Figures in per cent Category of Road National Highways 1991 32.9 1992 33.6 1993 32.1 14 1994 33.0 1995 31.7 1996 30.9 1997 32.4 1998 32.5

State Highways 32.5 34.2 34.2 34.4 32.0 32.9 32.7 32.6 Others Roads 34.6 32.2 33.7 32.6 36.3 36.2 34.9 34.9 Source: Compiled from Statistics brought out by Road Safety Cell of MoRT&H. It is seen that about one-third of fatalities occur on National Highways and another one-third of fatalities occur on State Highways. Thus, National Highways, which constitute about 2 per cent, and State Highways about 4 per cent of the total road network together account for over 65 per cent of the total fatalities. It is also seen from available accident statistics that 50 to 60 per cent of fatalities happen due to heavy commercial vehicles (trucks and buses). These commercial vehicles are involved in a higher proportion of fatalities with pedestrians and bicyclists than that of injuries. Cars and two wheelers have a higher involvement in non-fatal crashes. With the NHDP and other road up-gradation programs being undertaken in the States and production of modern automobiles by vehicle manufacturers, speed of vehicles would increase and accident scenario is likely to become still worse. These facts underscore the severity of the problem and the necessity of formulating a strategy to contain the situation.

2.3.2 Economic Loss Road traffic accidents cause considerable economic loss to the nation. The monetary evaluation of road accidents is a difficult and complex task. An attempt was made by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to undertake a detailed study relating to "Evaluation of Road Accident Cost" in 1998-99 through Tata Consultancy Services. The scope of work included collection of data from records of police, hospitals, insurance, vehicle repair workshops, courts, motor accident tribunals and to

15

assess the cost of fatalities, injuries as also damage to vehicles and property. Table 2.5 gives the cost evaluation in respect of fatality and injury and cost of vehicle damage based on 1999 price levels.

Table: 2.5 Cost of Accidents Figures in Indian Rupees (1999 Prices) Classification A. Cost of Injury i) Fatal ii) Serious Injury iii) Major Injury iv) Minor Injury 613,194 291,932 125,793 17,291 527,336 230,293 108,125 21,698 567,071 269,551 118,641 23,614 485,201 218,011 89,432 14,678 535,489 242,736 106,959 18,855 North Region South East West All India

B. Cost of Vehicle Damage i) Truck ii) Bus iii) Car iv) Three Wheeler 40,842 50,325 10,338 7,411 49,580 48,551 16,812 9,902 60,856 64,009 26,297 14,195 48,260 38,061 15,568 12,920 48,700 47,100 16,200 10,900 4,100

v) Two Wheeler 3,222 3,414 6,219 4,674 Source: Ministry of Road Transport & highways, Research Scheme R-79.

The figures given in Table 2.5 were applied to the road accident data published by the National Records Bureau for the year 1995. The cost of road accidents was estimated for that year to be around Rs. 7000 crore. This was approximately 0.7 per cent of the nation's GDP. This may be an underestimate as the study used the official estimates of fatalities and injuries (not all injuries are reported to the police). Current annual loss due accidents might be around Rs. 15000 crore.

16

This is a terrible toll and should not be viewed as the 'price we have to pay for mobility'.

2.3.2 Strategies Proposed The Working Group on Road Accidents, set up by the Planning Commission in May, 2000, has made a number of recommendations regarding strengthening of institutional arrangements with a view to bringing about improvements in road safety. This Group felt that the Road Safety Wing proposed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways would not attract senior professionals to join it. The implementation of these recommendations needs to be pursued by the MoRT&H and the states. Particular attention is invited to the recommendation relating to creation of statutory Road Safety Boards at the national and state levels through an amendment of the Motor Vehicles Act. The summary of the structure, functions and funding proposed by the Group for national level Safety Board is given below. For resolving inter-ministerial issues pertaining to road safety, an Empowered Committee of Secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary has been proposed. A professionally managed traffic engineering and safety cell needs to be set up immediately within the MoRT&H. Similar cells should be set up in the states. We need to involve Insurance Agencies in R&D effort and safety measures being applied on ground.

National Road Safety Board (Proposed by Planning Commission Working Group)

17

A.

Structure:

(i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

Chairman (Part-time): Minister Rank. Vice Chairman-cum-Director General (Full time) : Secretary Rank Member Secretary : Joint Secretary Rank Part-time Members : - DG Roads MORT&H - DG Health Services, Ministry of Health - Home Ministry rep., Traffic Enforcement - Two reps., NGOs - Two non-official experts on road safety - Two reps., Road Safety Boards at state level. - One rep., Vehicle manufacturers. - Three reps., research/academic institutions. - One rep., Insurance companies. Formulation of policy in respect of goals, objectives, targets for road safety. Formulation, coordination and monitoring of road safety programmes (safety education, safety standards for roads, vehicles, regulatory and

B.

Functions:

i. ii.

iii. iv. v. vi. vii.

enforcement measures, road accident statistic, etc.). Preparing manuals, codes and guidelines on matters relating to road safety. Procuring funds and their management. Providing technical assistance to states. Examining accident inquiry reports. Setting up road safety research priorities, supporting research and dissemination of research through

viii.

seminars, etc. Setting up road safety research priorities, supporting research and dissemination of research through

ix. x. xi. C. Funding Sources: i.

seminars, etc. training Road Safety Audit Advise the Government on matters relating to road safety. Grants from the Central Government. 18

ii. An earmarked percentage of the Central Road Fund. iii. Funds from NGOs. Insurance companies, vehicle manufacturers, etc. Source : Report of the Working Group on Road Accidents, Planning Commission(2001). 2.4 CODAL PROVISIONS Following are the codal provision made by IRC & MOST for road safety purposes: i) IRC:02-1968 Route Marker Sign for National Highways (I Revision) ii) IRC:30-1968 Standard Letter and Numerals of different heights for use of highway signs. iii) iv) v) vi) vii) viii) ix) x) xi) xii xiii) xiv) xv) xvi) xvii) xviii ) xix) xx) IRC:31-1969 IRC:35-1970 IRC:46-1972 IRC:53-1992 IRC:54-1974 IRC:62-1976 IRC:66-1976 IRC:67-1977 IRC:69-1977 IRC:79-1981 IRC:93-1985 IRC:103-1988 IRC:SP:15-1996 IRC:SP:31-1992 IRC:SP:32-1988 IRC:SP:32-1996 MOST MOST Route Market Signs for state routes Code of practice for road markings A policy on road side advertisements (I Revision) Road Accident Forms A-1 & 4 (I Revision) Lateral and Vertical clearance of under passes for vehicular traffic. Guidelines for control of access of highways. Recommended practice for sight distance on rural highways. Code of practice for road signs Space standards for road in urban areas Recommended practice for road delineator Guidelines on design and installation of road traffic signals. Guidelines for pedestrian facilities. Ribbon development along highways and its prevention New traffic signs Road safety for children (5-12 years old) Highways safety code Specification for Road & Bridge works (Third Revision) Manual for safety in Road Design A Guide for Highways Engineers.

19

CHAPTER 3 SAFER ROADS FOR EVERYONE

3.1

NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY POLICY The vision for the National Road Safety Policy (NRSP) which emerged from

the participative process is "Safer Roads for Everyone" the NRSP comprises even policy Statement under the headings: 1. Raising Awareness about Road Safety Issues 2. Providing Enabling Legal, Institutional and Financial Framework for Road Safety 3. Road Safety Information Database Safer Road Infrastructure 4. Safer Vehicles 5. Safer Drivers 6. Safety for Vulnerable Road Users 7. Road Traffic Safety Education and Training Traffic Enforcement 8. Emergency Medical Services for Road Accidents 9. HRD and Research for Road Safety

The full text of the statements is appended. The NRSP Document is currently being considered by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRT&H).

20

Whilst all the policy statements are relevant to all, those with particular relevance to the Highways Engineering profession are: (a) Safer Road Infrastructure: Road infrastructure would be planned, designed, constructed, managed, maintained and operated in a manner so as to provide safe transport for all types of road users. Safety conscious planning and design of roads and road networks would be encouraged while undertaking new as well as upgrading/ Rehabilitation road schemes through application of road safety audits. Equal emphasis will be accorded to road accident reduction strategies through black spot improvement programmes. The government will undertake all the enabling steps to promote such road safety practice at national, state and local levels within the country. Application of ITS to achieve safe and efficient transport system will be encouraged under modernisation and upgrading programmes for highways. (b) Safety for vulnerable Road Users : All road improvement or construction plans would ensure that the needs of vulnerable and disabled road users have been taken care of in an adequate and equitable manner All road facilities would be designed, constructed and operated in a manner that quality of life is not adversely affected for any category of road users particularly for the vulnerable road users. The government will undertake systematic dissemination of research-based interdisciplinary technical guidance that synthesizes current best practices to town planners, architects, highway and traffic engineers, traffic enforcement personnel, road safety professionals and others connected with road safety planning and management. 21

(c)

Road Traffic Safety Education And Training : It will be further ensured that all professionals undertaking road design, road construction, road network management, traffic management and law enforcement shall have adequate knowledge for road safety Issues.

3.2

ROAD SAFETY AUDIT Many elements of a highway schemes design are based on the use of

standards. Whilst such standard provide a basis for safe design, care has to be taken when combining them to avoid the creation of hazards. The objective of a Road Safety Audit is to identify and aspects of a highway schemes design that give rise to road safety concerns, and where possible, to suggest amendments that would improve the road safety of the resultant schemes. Road safety audits are intended to ensure that operational road safety operation experience is applied during the construction process in order that the number and severity is kept to a minimum. Auditors identify and address problem areas using the experience gained from accident reduction schemes, accident investigation and research work. (Reference: HD 19/03 Road Safety Audit, Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, UK which is available on the internet). "Austroads" define a Road Safety Audit thus "A road safety audit is a formal examination of a future road or traffic project or an existing road, in which an independent, qualified team reports on the project' crash potential and safety performance". At what stage during the design of a project should road safety audits be undertaken. The UK requires audits on Completion of Preliminary Design, 22

Completion of Detailed Design and Completion of Construction i.e. pre operating. In addition, the audited highway scheme is monitored for accident had a further Audit Report is to be product analysing the accidents that have occurred singe opening in detail to identify: Locations of which personal injury accidents have occurred; Personal injury accidents that appears to arise from similar causes or show common factors. Austroads suggest a Feasibility Audit prior to the start of preliminary design. Views vary whether or not existing roads should be audited. Carrying out an investigation of accident that have occurred on existing roads is the preferred method: but this assumes one has reliable accident records over a number of years. Otherwise restricting auditing to those sites where most accidents occur is more desirable than an audit of all roads.

3.3

ACCIDENT

INVESTIGATION

AND

PREVENTION

(AlP)

&

COUNTERMEASURES Road accident tend to cluster together at certain locations commonly termed "accident blackspots". At such sites, it is quite likely that some aspect of the highway/ traffic design, layout, state of the road or traffic control is a contributory factor in most accident occurrences. As a consequence considerable benefits may result from the application of appropriate road engineering or traffic management measures, that is countermeasures. 23

Simple measures can significantly reduce problem at such sites. For example, the use of road signs and carriageway marketing so channelise traffic through complex junction, or to provide waiting areas for turning vehicles can lead to reduction in accidents and/or the severity of accidents. Quite often drivers are given no advance warning or sightlines are inadequate or pedestrians are not catered for or the driver may be unable to cope with a combination of circumstances and environment.

3.4

ACTION PLANS AT NATIONAL, STATE AND CITY LEVEL At the National Level, Road Engineering Road Safety Action Plans are being

developed by MoRT&H and NHAI assisted by the consultants. Two key components of these action plans will be the implementation of road safety audits and training of all professional staff in road safety engineering. With regard to training, it is intended to supplement lectures and seminars with work on site a sort of on the job training. With respect to improving dissemination it is hoped to establish a Road Safety Website and to re-issue the MoRT&H document "Manual for Safety in Road Design A Guide for Highway Engineers" in a less expensive format at a price in the range Rs. 150 to Rs. 200 compared to the current price of Rs. 600. The internet makes available to all a vast amount of information including interalia road safety practice from around the World. The consultants have downloaded many such documents and will be making the most relevant and useful available on a CD.

24

Haryana PWD and Haryana Traffic Police and Pune Traffic Police & Pune RTO and developing/implementing Action Plans assisted by the consultants. The Actions include : Improving Accident Data Recording and Analysis AIP and Countermeasures Training of Engineers and Officers Development of a GIS based Accident Analysis System Improving Sections of Main Road with Carriageway Markings & Signage Undertaking "Before and After" Surveys Develop a Road Safety Code School Zones and School Transport Improved Driver Training and Testing Improved Vehicle Testing Procedures Identifying Ways of Reducing Two Wheeler use Improving the Material for Increasing the Awareness of Road Users.

3.5

ENFORCEMENT The most visible enforcement agencies are the Traffic Police along with the

Regional Transport Officers. However, lack of enforcement is apparent at road construction sites where road safety guidelines are sometimes ignored - the enforcement officers in these circumstances are highway engineers and the agencies responsible are MoRT&H.

25

NHAI and PWDs. Furthermore, some recently opened roads show that highway design standards were not properly or fully implemented. A fourth "E" has been added to the three Es - Education, Engineering and Enforcement and that is "Encouragement". In some instances this may be more productive than Enforcement alone.

26

CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1 CONCLUSIONS:

Following conclusions can be drawn from the study (i) There is an urgent need for a good data recording and analysis system as a basic requirement for national road safety programme both for identifying problems and for evaluating counter measures. (ii) The accident problems are result of combination of prevailing lack of traffic management measures, inadequate road signs & markings, road side hazards, lack of law enforcement, vehicle safety devices etc. (iii) Safety is a responsibility that need to be shared by engineers, vehicle manufactures, law enforcement agencies, highway users and NGO's etc. (iv) The road authorities should allocate sufficient funds to setup a road safety branch. The various agencies connected with traffic, vehicle, roads, health, insurance etc. should join hands for constructive efforts to tackle this issue with the help of NGO's devoted to the mission of road safety to change this scenario of accidents on Indian roads. (v) The road and other related agencies should make arrangement for on job training of the persons involved in road safety issues. (vi) Savings due to reduction in number of accidents will compensate the overall cost of road safety audit and safety measures.

27

(vii)

Engineers must use latest technology and safe practices in design and implementation of highway projects.

(viii)

Enforcement agencies must ensure that laws and regulations relating to traffic safety are obeyed.

(ix)

Automobile industry must play its part in improving vehicle safety standard on international lines.

(x)

Highway users including padestrians and bicyclists must act sensibly and courteously with due respect for other road users.

4.2

RECOMMENDATIONS

Following are the recommendations: (i) Knowledge of traffic rules should be given at childhood level by incorporating the same in course material. (ii) The traffic park must be developed in urban areas where the visit of school level students must be planned regularly. (iii) Road users should be educated about the do's and don'ts related to highway safety and for this help of NGO's can be taken. (iv) The celebration of traffic safety weeks are limited to capitals / important cities only, where as it should be spread upto village level. In capitals / important cities the frequency of celebrating traffic safety weeks should be increased. The NGO's will of great help to this cause.

28

(v)

Road safety should be given special attention in Engineering / technology degree courses and can be an optional subject for related post graduate programmes.

(vi)

There should be separate and sufficient budget provisions for road safety in new traffic related projects.

(vii)

There should be a highway safety cell in road authorities or traffic related departments, like PWD, RSRDC, JDA, JMC etc. The road safety audit should be done regularly on important road stretches.

(viii)

There should be a proper coordination between road related authorities like PWD, JDA, JMC, Transport Department, Traffic Police etc. for this the transportation coordination committee should be re-structured and regular meeting of such body should be ensured. The input from technical institution should also be included.

(ix)

The severe road accident site should be inspected by senior engineering personnel to analyse the accident situations and suggest the necessary road safety measures.

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REFERENCES
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