National Workshop on Road Safety – 19th June, New Delhi

National Workshop on Road Safety – 19th June, New Delhi

by | Jun 22, 2018 | Global Road Safety Initiative

National Workshop on Road Safety – 19th June, New Delhi

Number of people killed in road accidents in India is 2nd highest globally, which is almost 1.5 lakhs per year. This translates into 17 people dying every hour. Another 5 lakhs are seriously injured in road crashes. Road crashes account for more than 44% of all un-natural accidental deaths in India and 51% of all those killed between the ages of 18 and 30.

With the basic aim to save human lives on road in India, Consumer Voice organized a workshop on 19th June, 2018 to appeal to the members of the  Parliament in‘Making Road Safety a National Priority’. The initiative focused on the 30 year old Motor Vehicles Act 1988 which require immediate amendment to address tremendous changes in the road safety scenario in India.

The workshop which was held in the Constitution Club in New Delhi was led by Member of Parliament, Shri Parvesh Verma, road crashes victims and their families members, Civil Society Organizations, Member of Parliament and partner organizations of road safety coalition highlighted the terrible state of road safety in our country. The participants jointly signed a memorandum to Hon’ble Prime Minister, Hon’ble Vice President, Hon’ble President and Hon’ble Chief Justice of India to make Road Safety as National Priority. The initiative was supported by Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, Member of Parliament, Shri Abhay Damle, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways highlighted the provisions of the MVA 2017 Bill. Para Olympian, Jagwinder Singh and Singer Kalpana Chauhan along with over 20 victims from across India.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. AshimSanyal COO, Consumer VOICE, said, “Every crash leaves an indelible scar on the family and the community, but the daily crashes are making society numb and reducing these to just statistics. We have therefore brought together survivors of horrific road crashes and their families to tell their tales along with civil society organizations to join together in our appeal.”

Shri Parvesh Verma, Member of Parliament who could not grace the occassion, showed his support through this statement. He stated, “I am the victim and faced the same situation like any other survivor present at the national event on road safety. As you know, my father (Former Chief Minister of Delhi Shri Sahib Singh Verma Ji) lost his life in a tragic road crash. Each and every life is important and we must do everything possible to save. Our Government under leadership of Modi Ji is trying its best for road safety and I am sure that the proposed Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill will strengthen the road safety situation in India. I am joining road crash survivors to appeal our Hon’ble Prime Minister to make road safety as a national priority and get the MVA Bill passed on priority.” A memento as an honor was given to victims who joined our hands for this initiative.

pic-1
previous arrow
next arrow

Time is Right for Making Road Safety a National Priority

Time is Right for Making Road Safety a National Priority

by | Jun 18, 2018 | Global Road Safety Initiative

Time is Right for Making Road Safety a National Priority

India has the dismal record of being the second highest country in the world where almost 1.5 lakh people are dying because of road accidents which is 17 people dying every hour. Another 5 lakhs are seriously injured in road crashes. Road crashes account for more than 44% of all un-natural accidental deaths in India and 51% of all those killed between the ages of 18 and 30.

YearDeaths due to road accidents
20151,46,000
20161,50,785
20171,46,377

This means that we are losing 404 precious lives every day for the past 3 years.

(Source: MORTH)

As a signatory to Brasilia Declaration, India is committed to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50% by 2020 which is 74000 deaths in a year. Nitin Gadkari has recently admitted that he saved only 5% lives in road accidents instead of 50% which was an unfortunate blemish on his performance record.

The economic loss from road crashes is estimated at 3% of the GDP or Rs 4 lakh crores annually. According to a study conducted by the World Bank and Bloomberg Philanthropies by reducing road fatalities by 50% and keeping it at the same level till 2038 India can generate additional national income of about Rs 17.64 lakh crore.

Some of the important risk factors one can take note of for reducing the number of accidents in India are:

  • Overspeeding– Speeding is the biggest cause of road fatalities on India. As per the MoRTH Report – ‘Road Accidents in India, Overspeeding resulted in 73,896 (49%) deaths in 2016 and 64,633 in 2015.
  • Drunken Driving – Drink Driving caused around 6131 road deaths in 2016.
  • Helmets – India registers maximum road deaths among 2-Wheeler drivers and pillion riders. Maximum deaths in Two-Wheeler category are because of head injuriesand not wearing helmet.
  • Seatbelt – In 2016, non-wearing of Seat-Belt caused 5638deaths among vehicle drivers & passengers in India.
  • Child Restraint– Mandatory use of Child restraints(Infant seat/ child seat) can reduce child deaths by 54–80% in event of a crash.

Consumer VOICE which is committed in helping the country reduce road accidents in India, is organizing a “National Workshop on Road Safety to make Road Safety a National Priority” where it will urge the  Hon’ble Prime Minister,President,Vice President and Chief Justice of India to sign the  memorandum for making road safety as National priority. Through this workshop various stakeholders such as road crash victims/their family members,members of parliament will be raising their VOICES and urging the government to make road safety a national priority and ensure that India inches towards the commitment made in Brasilia Declaration.

Sign this petition to save precious lives

Consumer Voice Urges Nitin Gadkri To Join Hands With The UN General Assembly In Their Resolution To Tackle Global Road Safety Problem

by | Apr 27, 2018 | Global Road Safety Initiative

Consumer Voice Urges Nitin Gadkri To Join Hands With The UN General Assembly In Their Resolution To Tackle Global Road Safety Problem

Road crashes kill more than 1.3 million people each year and in India the road traffic mortality is 16.6 per 100 000 population. As per the latest report released by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, a total of 480,652 road accidents took place in India in 2016, which resulted in the loss of 150,785 human lives and left 494,625 people injured. India is losing per day more than 400 lives on roads.

Stressing that road traffic deaths and injuries remained a major public health and development problem with broad social and economic consequences. The international community has recognized road safety as a critical component of the global development agenda through the adoption of a resolution to improve global road safety at the United Nations General Assembly.

In wake of the United Nations General Assembly’s (UNGA) announcement to adopt a new resolution, Improving Global Road Safety, calling for strong and urgent global action to improve global road safety, Consumer Voice has written a letter to the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari asking him to follow suit and pass the long-pending road safety law in the upcoming session of parliament. The commitment by the United Nations to tackle these deaths through the Decade of Action on Road Safety and through the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 3.6: reduce road deaths by 50 percent by 2020 and 11.2: provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all) are an indication of the action required.

“The road safety law is pending in the Parliament since one year. Each day delay is costing more than 400 Indians their lives in avoidable road crashes every day” says Mr. Ashim Sanyal, Chief Operating Officer, Consumer Voice. “With the adoption of the United Nations General Assembly resolution on road safety, Our government must join the UN and act to stop this public health crisis” adds Mr. Sanyal. Seeking for early passage of the road safety bill, there has been widespread media coverage by various national and local newspapers.

Adoption of the United Nations General Assembly resolution on road safety by India

by | Apr 14, 2018 | Global Road Safety Initiative

Road crashes kill more than 1.3 million people each year and in India the road traffic mortality rate m (per 100 000 population) is 16.6. A total of 480,652 road accidents took place in India in 2016, which resulted in the loss of 150,785 human lives and left 494,625 injured as per the report Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in 2017. These statistics gives us reason to worry and therefore not a surprise that road safety is recognised as a humanitarian crisis in the global scenario.

It is therefore not an exaggeration to say that road safety measures require immediate attention and despite several steps taken by the government, much needs to be done. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is all set to adopt a new resolution, Improving Global Road Safety, calling for strong and urgent global action to improve global road safety. The commitment by the United Nations to tackle these deaths through the Decade of Action on Road Safety and through the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 3.6: reduce road deaths by 50 percent by 2020 and 11.2: provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all) are an indication of the action required.

With the adoption of the United Nations General Assembly resolution on road safety, India too needs to pass the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill (2017) which is now pending in Rajya Sabha. The MVA Bill is the need of the hour and keeping this in mind it has urged the government for a speedy passage of the MVA Bill through its petition addressing the Hon’bl Prime Minister Mr. Narender Modi, Hon’ble Vice President Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, Mr. P.J. Kurien (Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha) and Mr Nitin Gadkari (Minister of Road Transport and Highways). The new MVA bill has strict penal provisions to arrest crashes, deaths and injuries on 5 scientifically identified areas.

Sign this petition to save precious lives

Consumer Voice is leading a coalition of road safety and consumer organisations who have been sensitizing both the policy makers and common men on the importance of road safety and the major risk factors that are responsible for road accidents. These include:

  • Helmet

    Maximum deaths in two-wheeler category are because of head injuries and not wearing helmet. In 2016, 52,500 (34.8%) fatalities were among two- wheeler drivers/riders. Not wearing helmet while driving or riding on a motorized two wheeler increases risk of head injury, severity and death while wearing a good- quality helmet can reduce risk of death from a road crash by 40% and severe
    injury by over 70%.

  • Speeding

73,896 people ie 49% people have been killed due to overspeeding in 2016. Speeding is one of the main reasons for road accidents especially in urban cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

  • Seat Belt

Seat Belt and Child Restraint System are secondary safety measures but they are crucial ones nonetheless. They reduce risk of hitting interior of car or other passengers. In 2016, non-wearing of seat-belt caused 5638 deaths among
vehicle drivers & passengers in India.

  •  Drink and Driving

impairment due to alcohol consumption leads to poor judgment, increased reaction time, lowered vigilance and decreased ability to see well. 6,131 have been killed while driving under the influence of alcohol. In 2016.

  • Child Restraint

Child restraint systems, such as child seats for infants and booster seats for older children, decrease the risk of death in a crash by about 70% for infants and up to 80% for small children. 96 countries have already implemented a child restraint law. Mandatory child restraint laws and enforcement are effective in increasing the use of child restraints and the Indian government should think about this
seriously.

The UN Resolution on Improving Global Road Safety should be a wakeup call for the parliamentarians and India must join the United Nations and act to stop this public health crisis.  The passage of the MVA Bill is key to improve road safety and help India meet its target of reducing by half the burden of road injuries and fatalities by 2020. Sign this petition to help make our Indian roads safe!

Press Interaction Meet – Road Safety, 28 February 2018

Press Interaction Meet – Road Safety, 28 February 2018

by | Mar 9, 2018 | Global Road Safety Initiative

Press Interaction Meet – Road Safety, 28 February 2018

Consumer Voice organised a Press Interaction Meet “Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill 2017: Tough Journey- the Road Ahead”- Voices of Road Crash Victims and Support from Members of Parliament” on behalf of National Coalition of Social & Consumer Organisations working on Road Safety in India on February 28, 2018 at Press Club of India, New Delhi.

The objective of programme was to address the issue of alarming road crash deaths and injuries, and India’s commitment to reduce deaths on road by 50 per cent as per the UN Brassilia Convention. The Government of India had committed to strengthen and bring comprehensive amendments through The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2017. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha in April 2017 but is pending in Rajyasabha since almost a year and now has been listed in Rajya Sabha in the upcoming session of parliament (post budget).

A coalition of road safety organizations urged the Government to get the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill passed in the upcoming session of the Parliament. Road safety experts have called the passage of the Bill, which seeks to make key amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, as being critical to improve the dismal road safety record in the country.

The meet was attended by victims and survivors of road crashes – Ashutosh Soti , Kavita Tholiya, Kavita Chauhan,D K Sachdeva, and Dorris Francis. They raised their voices in support of passage of Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2017. They narrated their personal agony of losing members of their families or getting seriously injured in road crashes and appealed to the parliamentarians of not mixing politics in this issue since this is about saving lives on roads.

To support our programme Dr. Satyanarayan Jatiya , Hon’ble Member of Parliament , Rajya Sabha and Senior leader of BJP also came forward to support the initiative and strongly favoured the passage of the Bill. Shri Oscar Fernandes, Hon’ble MP, RajyaSabha and Former Union Transport Minister also said that each and every life is important and to have safer future, passage of bill in the
Rajya Sabha is crucial.

The meet was covered widely by electronic and print media.

Media Coverage

Web-Press-Meet-Road-Safety-370x310
previous arrow
next arrow

1. Times of India : Pass the Motor Vehicles Bill, Civil Society urges MPs

2.Business Standard :  Coalition of road safety organisations urges govt to pass motor vehicle bill

3.Business World :  Coalition of road safety organisations urges govt to pass motor vehicle bill

4.Times of India :  Coalition of road safety organisations urges govt to pass motor vehicle bill

5.India Today :  Coalition of road safety organisations urges govt to pass motor vehicle bill

6.Economic Times :  Coalition of road safety orgs urges govt to pass motor vehicle bill

7.the Statesman :  Road safety bodies urge Centre to amend motor vehicles Bill

8.Public Talk of India :  Pass The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2017 Without Further Delay, Says Road Safety Network

9.Haribhoomi –  राजनीति से ऊपर उठकर जल्द पास कराएं मोटर वाहन विधेयक, पीड़ितों की गुहार

10.Uttaranchal Today – मोटर वाहन (संशोधन) विधेयक 2017 बगैर देरी पारित हो : रोड सेफ्टी नेटवर्क

11.IANS :  मोटर वाहन (संशोधन) विधेयक 2017 बगैर देरी पारित हो : रोड सेफ्टी नेटवर्क

12.IBN 7 : मोटर वाहन (संशोधन) विधेयक 2017 बगैर देरी पारित हो : रोड सेफ्टी नेटवर्क

13.Daily hunt :  मोटर वाहन (संशोधन) विधेयक 2017 बगैर देरी पारित हो : रोड सेफ्टी नेटवर्क

14.News Code :-  मोटर वाहन (संशोधन) विधेयक 2017 बगैर देरी पारित हो : रोड सेफ्टी नेटवर्क

15.the Quint :  मोटर वाहन (संशोधन) विधेयक 2017 बगैर देरी पारित हो : रोड सेफ्टी नेटवर्क

16.Financial Express : मोटर वाहन (संशोधन) विधेयक 2017 बगैर देरी पारित हो : रोड सेफ्टी नेटवर्क

17. The World News :  Pass the Motor Vehicles Bill, Civil Society urges MPs

18. My Times now :  Coalition of road safety orgs urges govt to pass motor vehicle bill

19.NewsOlive :  Pass the Motor Vehicles Bill, Civil Society urges MPs

Press Interaction Meet – Voice of Road Crash Victims and Support from Members of Parliament

Press Interaction Meet – Voice of Road Crash Victims and Support from Members of Parliament

by | Feb 27, 2018 | Global Road Safety Initiative

Press Interaction Meet – Voice of Road Crash Victims and Support from Members of Parliament

55 road accidents every hour…

Almost 4 people dying every minute….

With the number of people dying every minute and leaving several hundred injured, road accidents in India have been one of the major causes of deaths in our country. Hardly there is a day when the newspapers or TV channels are not covering news of road accidents. It is time to hear the voices of those victims who are slightly fortunate to survive such accidents. Victims of road accidents
also include those who have lost their loved ones, their son, daughter, mother, father or brother. The deceased probably could be the only earning member of the family or could be the only support of old parents.

The fatalities resulting from road accidents have risen by about 3.2% in the last year. Nearly 1,50,785 persons were killed in 2016 as against 1,46,133 in 2015.

Major causes of these accidents are negligence, rash driving or drunken driving, absence of seat belts and helmets and no restraint on underage driving.

Understanding the importance of road safety in our country, Consumer VOICE is continuously approaching the government for the early passage of MVA Bill as it can save lives on Indian roads.

India is a signatory to Brasilia Declaration (Nov 2015), and is committed to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50% by 2020. So it is time for every citizen of India to sit up and help reduce this number. It is time for us to hear the voices of the victims. It is time that we reach out to them and show our support. Consumer VOICE is urging the Government of India to pass the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill (2017) in the coming parliament session. However, saving lives on the roads is not only the responsibility of the government but as responsible citizens it is our duty to sensitize people to drive safe.

Keeping the voice of the victims in mind, Consumer Voice has arranged for a Press Meet on 28th February at the Press Club. Eminent personalities and hon’ble members of the Parliament would be interacting with the road accident victims in the Press Meet titled “Motor Vehicles Act (Amendment) Bill 2017: Tough Journey and the Road Ahead”.

Enquire Now

    X
    Enquire Now