Increased Road Space Needs Increased Safety

Road accidents unfortunately do not attract s much mass-media attention as murder, dacoity, rape or other crimes .An estimated 1.2 million are killed each year and as many as 50 million are injured, and the figures are expected are increase by about 65 % over the next 20 years. With India on the road to economic progress, vehicle owners have increased by leaps and bounds, it is said that if just Delhi alone brings out all its motorized transport on the road and is arranged in a row, it will reach N. York. Today India can boast of the availability of all international brands four and two wheelers. But has the country been able to provide adequate road space commensurate with the growth in motorized transport? It is estimated that in India over 4lakh people are injured and over a lakh loose their lives in road accidents From 300,000 vehicles on a road network of 400,000 kilometers in 1951, the number of vehicles has gone up nearly a 170 times till 2000,whereas the road network has expanded by only nine times.

Surprisingly, Indian has the second largest road network in the world. With over 3 million kilometer of roads of which 46 % are paved, yet it is too inadequate to meet the growing demands of motor driven vehicles. It is not that the Central government has not woken up o the demands of increased road space. One of the most important decisions of the Vajpayee government was the need to improve the highway and connect the entire country with a network of roads. But has the powers that be given the necessary attention to road safety. Death on the roads do not only cause considerable suffering to the family members of the victims but has a major impact on the country’s economy, costing an estimated Rs. 300 billion or more than 3% of India’s GDP every year.. As Indian motor industry grows to maturity, it’s also desperately clear that the country needs to raise the bar on safety. The modern automobile industry has made tremendous strides on safety, but only a few have filtered through to India.

Safety features like airbags, crash sensors and crumple zones are all far in the future on Indian roads. And, remember that the world's top manufacturers -- Ford, GM, Suzuki, Hyundai, Fiat, Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen -- are now selling automobiles every day on Indian roads. But neither they nor Indian manufacturers have to put in safety features that are mandatory or the norm abroad.

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