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Inaugural issue: January to April 2021
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We are pleased to bring to you the first issue of Road Safety Network’s Newsletter. We hope this finds you in good health, in the uncertain times of the Covid 19 pandemic. This being the first issue, it covers the first four months of 2021, after which it will be bi-monthly.
Road Safety Network (RSN) is a national coalition of NGOs, CSO, educational institutions, road safety experts striving for safer roads.
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Release of Report titled ‘Traffic Crash Injuries and Disabilities: The Burden on Indian Society’
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The research study titled “Traffic Crash Injuries and Disabilities: The Burden on Indian Society” released by SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF) and commissioned by the World Bank (WB), sheds light on the interlinkages between road crashes, poverty, inequalities and vulnerable road users in India. It highlights how these socioeconomic inequalities interact with existing institutions to adversely affect low income and disadvantaged households, pushing them into a vicious cycle of poverty and debt. The sub-national study was conducted to assess the differential social, financial, gendered and psychological impact of road crashes on poor disadvantaged households among 4 Indian States (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra) by comparing victims and their family members from LIH, i.e., the bottom 40% of the population in terms of per capita income with victims and family members HIH, i.e., the top 10% of the population in terms of per capita income. The report was released by Hon’ble Union Minister, Road Transport and Highways, Mr. Nitin Gadkari. The attendees included representatives from the World Bank and SLF, and representatives from eminent media agencies. You can read the report here. |
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Speed Management Manual prepared by IIT Kharagpur
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The management of speed remains one of the biggest challenges faced by road safety practitioners around the world and calls for a concerted, long-term, multidisciplinary response. In India, 67% of the road accident fatalities were due to speeding in the year of 2019. This substantiates the need for developing a comprehensive speed management manual to guide road safety practitioners and policy makers in order to reduce fatalities and serious injuries from speeding-related crashes, enhance safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users and promote communitywide road safety culture as a top priority.
The ‘Speed Management Manual’ prepared by Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur with the assistances from Global Road Safety Partnership, World Bank, and other stakeholders, advocates a strategic and robust approach to create a safe road system for Indian scenario, with speed management at its heart. It provides advice and assistance for policy-makers and road safety practitioners drawing on the experience from countries that have already implemented speed management programmes, and brings out key engineering treatments and strategies for enforcement and education for all road users.
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Dialogue with Transport Minister, Government of Rajasthan on Challenges and Opportunities in Effective Enforcement of Road Safety in Rajasthan
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In the first-ever ‘Dialogue with Transport Minister, Rajasthan on road safety’ during this pandemic period in 2020-2021, CUTS International organised this dialogue with Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Transport Minsiter, Government of Rajasthan on ‘Effective Enforcement of Key Risk Factors: Opportunities and Challenges’ on November 27, 2020, on a virtual platform.
While speaking on the provision of enhanced penalty in MVA 2019, the honourable Minister said that the Government of Rajasthan has formed various road safety committees at various levels and is working well. The Government of Rajasthan is following the Tamil Nadu model, which is suitable for road safety. The government is making road safety community leaders at the village and Gram Panchayat level, which will surely bring ground level changes in road safety scenario.
Khachriyawas expressed his deep sense of sorrow on each life being lost in road accidents in the State and was concerned about the country’s increased number of road accidents. Road safety is a shared responsibility of all the stakeholders, including all the key stakeholders of government, non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, and common road users at large. He underlined the importance of self-discipline among all road users. He said that self-discipline is maintained on the road as a moral duty towards himself and a national responsibility. He further said though there are five key risk factors in road safety, the lack of self-discipline among road users is also one of the primary reasons for accidents.
The session started with the introductory remarks by George Cheriyan, Director CUTS International who introduced the Minister in brief and talked about the road safety scenario in India and Rajasthan. More than 50 participants from across the states, IITs, NITs, traffic and transport officials, road safety experts, consumer organisations, and media representatives participated in the webinar.
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Capacity building workshop on Safe System Approach for District Road Safety Committee members in Maharashtra
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Parisar conducted this workshop for 11 District Road Safety Committees in Maharashtra, namely in Aurangabad, Solapur, Kolhapur, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgoan, Ahmednagar, Ratnagiri, Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Pune, during the National Road Safety Month.
The workshops started with a poll on road safety awareness among the members,which gave the speakers a better idea of what the focus of the workshop could be. This was followed by a brief presentation on the Safe Systems Approach with linkages to the current road safety scenario in India.
There was a discussion on risk
factors like speed, helmet/seat belt, road design, vehicles safety, etc. Challenges and issues being faced by DRSC members were also discussed.
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“Behavioural change most necessary” – CEE Director Kartikeya Sarabhai says citizens’ participation and out-of-box solutions are way forward
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With the ministry of road transport and highways observing a Road Safety Month campaign between January 18 and February 17, the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), which is itself actively involved in road safety initiatives, is doing its bit in support of the government’s endeavor. Mirror talked to CEE founder and Director Kartikeya Sarabhai to know how the organization is taking the safety efforts further.
You can read the full article here.
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Expert Consultation on State Rules for Road Safety under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019
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The Transport Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh in collaboration with SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF) organized an expert consultation on two crucial road safety provisions under the MVAA’19 providing the rulemaking power to the State Government: Section 210 (D) that empowers the State to make rules for design, construction and maintenance standards for all State roads other than National Highways; and Section 138 (1A) that empowers the State to make rules to regulate the movement of non- motorised transport on 10th February,2021 at the Uttar Pradesh State Road Trabsport Corporation Office at Lucknow.
The workshop was chaired by Mr. Awanish Kumar Awasthi, ACS Home, Uttar Pradesh, and included stakeholders from the State Transport Department, UPPWD, UP Police, road safety experts, NHAI, Lucknow Nagar Nigam, and so on. SLF was represented by a team headed by the CEO, Mr. Piyush Tewari Prior to the meeting, SLF had sent draft rules for the two provisions to various stakeholders of the UP Consultation. The consultation ended on a successful note with meaningful insights from the various stakeholders. Based on the inputs of the stakeholders, the draft rules were revised and sent to the UP Transport Department. |
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Civic Sanskriti: Time to put road safety plans back in top gear
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Number and severity of road accidents can be greatly reduced if municipal corporations, RTOs, Traffic Police, and emergency services work together.
Sanskriti Menon, Programme Director, Centre for Environment Education, Pune elaborates in this article.
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National Road Safety Month webinar – Tackling Road Crashes: The Tamil Nadu Experience
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As part of the National Road Safety Month 2021, Citizen consumer And civic Action Group (CAG) conducted this webinar on 18th February 2021. After a brief recap of CAG’s work on road safety, CAG presented the findings from their just concluded study on helmet and seatbelt compliance in Chennai. The key takeaway was that while rider and driver compliance had improved (compared to a similar study by CAG in 2017), pillion and passenger compliance was very poor.
The guest of honour at the webinar was Thiru. Pramod Kumar, IPS, who heads the Traffic and Road Safety Cell of the Tamil Nadu Police. He spoke at length on the state’s efforts on road safety – improved coordination between agencies; taking a data driven approach; tapping into the state’s extensive road crash data management system, etc. He also noted that while Tamil Nadu has achieved substantial progress, we cannot rest till we bring deaths to zero. He called upon citizens and CSOs to work on greater awareness of road rules and road safety among the public. He also noted that road safety starts with all of us and we must obey the law. He also highlighted juvenile or underage driving as a serious concern.
During the Q&A, on being asked about the lack of implementation of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 in Tamil Nadu, he responded that discussions are ongoing within the government and there is likely to be progress soon.
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Launch of Tamil Nadu Road Safety Network
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Over the past 5 to 6 years Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG) has been engaging with several Tamil Nadu-based civil society groups on road safety issues. Many of them have been and are active in promoting awareness programmes etc on road safety. It was, therefore, felt that a network of these organisations would be of great help and support to all members.
Tamil Nadu Road Safety Network, an effort undertaken by CAG, seeks to initially build a small network of Civil Society Organizations and experts in the sector in Tamil Nadu. Through interactions, workshops, exchange of information and ideas, the network members could develop a deeper understanding of the nature and magnitude of problems that need to be tackled in the sector. The Network would be an opportunity to come up with innovative ideas for tackling these in the medium and long-term and would be a space for members to build their collective capacity and bargaining strength to effectively engage with the governance process. The Network could also enable members to explore new and more appropriate avenues for engagement if required. The Network could work to bring about greater transparency and accountability to the governance process in the sector.
On April 26th, 2021, the Network was launched with a meeting of its members – with 7 organisations across the state. Members discussed modalities of working together and plans for the upcoming United Nations Global Road Safety Week (May 17-23). A key point of interest was to ensure stronger, collaborative interactions with state agencies at the district and state level.
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Buckle up!
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In January-February 2021 Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG) carried out a study on helmet and seatbelt compliance in Chennai across 10 busy intersections in the city. At each intersection four volunteers recorded the number of two-wheelers and cars and number of riders, pillions, car drivers, and front seat passengers wearing a helmet or seatbelt respectively.
A perception survey of 539 two-wheeler riders and 501 car drivers was conducted to assess their knowledge of helmet and seatbelt rules and their opinion on ensuring greater compliance with these rules.
The perception survey found that a majority (around 75%) of interviewees were well aware of the benefits of wearing a helmet/seatbelt yet this was not reflected in the level of compliance. In addition, more than half the respondents were clear that higher penalties and stronger enforcement are essential to ensuring better compliance.
Read the full report here.
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Road Safety: Life is Precious, each and every effort matters!
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Head injuries are a major cause of death, injury and disability among users of motorized two-wheeler vehicles. A huge number of bikers do not wear a helmet and among those who wear one, a lot of the helmets are of poor quality. Many of these head injuries could have been prevented or their severity could have been reduced through the use of good quality and inexpensive helmets, writes Rinki Sharma, Projects Head, Consumer Voice.
Read the full article here.
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Important notifications related to road safety
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With the passage of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019, several rules need to be notified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to make the amendments operational. The following important notifications were issued by the Ministry between January and April of this year. Some of these are draft rules published for suggestions and objections and some are final rules notified after completion of this process. The complete list of notifications can be found here.
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First Road Safety Month inaugurated by MoRTH
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The first-ever National Road Safety Month was inaugurated in New Delhi on 17th January, to build awareness about road safety and reduce road accidents in India. During the last few years, a road safety week was being organised, but considering the importance of the issue, a month-long programme has been made this year. The inaugural function was launched by Union Minister for Defence Shri Rajnath Singh and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways & MSME Shri Nitin Gadkari. Minister of State for RTH, Gen (Retd) Dr VK Singh and CEO, Niti AAYOG, Sh. Amitabh Kant were also present.
Read the full article here.
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DECADE OF ACTION FOR ROAD SAFETY 2021-2030
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UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in August 2020, “Improving global road safety”, proclaiming the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, with the target of preventing at least 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030. The new Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 provides an opportunity for harnessing the successes and lessons of previous years and building upon them to save more lives.
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U.N. GLOBAL ROAD SAFETY WEEK
17-23 May 2021
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This year’s U.N. Global Road Safety Week marks the opening of the Second U.N. Decade of Action on Road Safety — a 10-year window with an ambitious target to reduce road crash deaths by 50%. The theme of this biennial mobilization is speed as a risk factor. Join the conversation online using #love30 (to advocate for a 30/km per hour speed limit) and #UNGRSW + #roadsafetyweek to join the broader Road Safety Week conversation.
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GHAI GLOBAL ROAD SAFETY WEEK TWEET CHAT
18 May 2021, 6:30 p.m. IST
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https://spark.adobe.com/page/5DIkU0s6K8kfm/
On May 18 at 6:30 p.m. IST, GHAI will host a conversation on Twitter exploring how advocacy efforts are advancing road safety policy change. Advocates are invited to share their insights into why road safety is a public health priority, how advocacy campaigns are changing the narrative and highlight the policies that are most critical across the globe. Here are the questions so you can help get the word out — and prepare answers in advance. Join on Twitter using # GHAIchat.
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ROAD SAFETY NETWORK AT THE WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
25 May 2021, 6:30 p.m. IST
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Join the Global Health Advocacy Incubator on May 25 for a virtual discussion about why public health advocacy is necessary, and how it can be effective in a world transformed by COVID-19. Advocates from India’s Road Safety Network will give insights into how our efforts have moved the needle on road safety policy change, even under harrowing circumstances during the pandemic. Participants will also hear from experts advocating on behalf of healthy food policies, stronger public health budgets and more.
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Statement in Parliament by Hon’ble Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari
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Support for Surakshit Bharat Mission
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Dr.Vikas Mahatme Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) supported the road safety cause through social media and tweeted on Surakshit Bharat Mission. Dr.Mahatme is Road Safety ambassador for Nagpur ,Maharashtra.
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Road Safety Network India,
Yamuna, ICS Colony,
ICS Colony,
Ganeshkhind road,
Pune 411007
Contact:+91-20-29701004
Email: roadsafetynetwork@gmail.com
www.roadsafetynetwork.in
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You are receiving this newsletter as you have been concerned by road safety and have been part of some of our activities. We hope that you would be interested in knowing how our network members continue to strive for safer roads and reduce road crashes in India. If, unfortunately, you do not wish to receive our updates you can unsubscribe.
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© 2021 Road Safety Network India
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