Driving habit change, respect for rules key to reducing accidents: Gadkari

Efforts to reduce road accidents in India and curtail casualties will not bear fruit unless citizens adhere to traffic rules and make behavioural changes. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the onus to reduce road accidents in India also lies with common people too besides the Centre. Gadkari said this during an interview to news agency ANI on Wednesday. The Union Minister had earlier said that the government aims to reduce the number of road accidents in India by 50 per cent by next year.

During his interview, Gadkari lamented the lack of respect for traffic rule among people. Overspeeding, riding without helmet, drunken driving or wrong-side driving are some of the key traffic violations that lead to most of the road accidents in India. Despite stringent laws, people often tend to overstep even traffic lights. Gadkari said, “Kanoon ke prati dar bhi nahi aur samman bhi nahi (There is lack of fear and respect for the law)."

Gadkari emphasised that without the cooperation from commuters, it will be difficult to reduce number of accidents effectively. It will require behavioural changes and respect for law among citizens. He said, “Human behavioural change regarding road safety is an important aspect. We have roped in film actors from Bombay and cricketers for raising awareness about road safety and they are actively supporting the cause."

According to data shared by the Centre, India sees loss of 1.54 lakh lives in 2021 to road accidents. The number of casualties was 1.31 lakh in the previous year. As many as 3.84 lakh people were also injured, some of them critically, in road mishaps in 2021. Gadkari said the loss of lives is the most tragic part of it all with most of the victims being below 40 years of age. "About five lakh road accidents are reported annually in our country and 1.5 fatalities. Most of those who lost their lives are typically in an age bracket between 18-34. Many due to accidents are left amputated for the rest of their life," he said.

The Union Minister said that his ministry has taken initiatives to reduce the number of road accidents. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is spending around ₹40,000 crore to reduce black spots on roads across India. He also said vehicle manufacturers have been mandated to produce safer models to curtail chances of fatality. "Automobile engineering needs improvement including mandatory six-air bags, better road engineering ...traffic signals, signage, underpass at strategic locations," he said.

Last year, Gadkari had set a target to reduce road accidents and deaths in India by 50 per cent by 2024. However, he thinks, the target may not be achieved unless there is a change of things on ground.

(With inputs from ANI)