Global Road Safety Initiative | Consumer Voice

Road Safety Network submitted recommendations to mitigate road crashes and deaths during lockdown

by admin | May 17, 2020 | Global Road Safety Initiative

Road Safety Network submitted recommendations to mitigate road crashes and deaths during lockdown

So far, during the lockdown a total of 1,137 crashes are recoded nationwide and 274 road crash deaths are reported. Consumer VOICE along with its partners have been maintaining a ‘Road Crash Tracker’ to document road crash deaths and traffic violations during the lockdown since March 25 until now. Road crashes killed 1,51,417 people in 2018.If on one hand the graph of COVID-19 cases is rising in India, on the other hand the number of road accidents especially of migrant labourers who are trying to return home during the ongoing lockdown is also steadily increasing. As per reports, India recorded about 600 road crashes in the first two phases of the lockdown. The scenes of migrant labourers trying to reach home by adopting desperate measures is too hard to even watch on TV channels or read in newspapers. The “pathetic condition of migrant labourers…is nothing but a human tragedy”, as has been rightly put by the Madras High Court where lakhs of migrant labourers have resorted to desperate measures and are forced to return home after having rendered jobless and homeless.

While the central and respective state governments are trying their best to help migrants return home safely, there are several risk factors which need immediate attention. Risk factors like speeding, driving while fatigued, not wearing helmets continue to be responsible for the fatalities across the states. Speeding on empty roads has been one of the most common reasons for road crash deaths across States. Pedestrians in both urban areas, as well as State and National Highways, remain at tremendous risk from speeding vehicles. There is an urgent need to effectively enforce speed limits. Media reports indicate that driver fatigue combined with speeding has been responsible for the recent crashes.

In order to combat this, Road Safety Network, a National Coalition of organizations promoting safe roads in India has submitted a list of 15 recommendations to the Home Ministry to ensure the safety of migrants traveling on road. The recommendations are aimed at mitigating specific risk factors like speeding, driving while fatigued, overcrowding etc. Some of the recommendations are specifically towards the safety of migrant workers returning home” said, Ashim Sanyal, COO, Consumer VOICE organisation part of Road Safety Network.

These deaths were probably not even part of the framework as it was not anticipated. But it is now time to act!

(Facts sourced from various national dailies)

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Stakeholder consultation on Road Safety for New Motor Vehicles Act in Uttar Pradesh

by admin | Feb 26, 2020 | Global Road Safety Initiative

Stakeholder consultation on Road Safety for New Motor Vehicles Act in Uttar Pradesh

Kanpur

Consumer VOICE in association with Consumer Guild, Lucknow organised a stakeholders’ Consultation and workshop on Strengthening Road Safety in Uttar Pradesh on 7^th November 2019 at Kaushalpuri in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

The main focus of the workshop was on New Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019 and its provisions for ensuring road safety in the state. Shri Sunil Dutt Yadav, ARTO Enforcement was the keynote speaker. Other stakeholders attending the workshop were Shri Arun Kumar Pathak MLC; Shri BhudharNarain Misra, EX- MLA; Traffic Inspector Arvind Kumar Sisodiya; Shri Vinod Yadav; Traffic Inspector Padam Mohan Misra, Secretary, USKS.

Varanasi

Consumer VOICE in association with Consumer Guild, Lucknow organised a stakeholders Consultation cum workshop on Strengthening Road Safety in Uttar Pradesh on 2nd December 2019 at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

The main objective of this workshop was to strengthen road safety and implementation of New Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019. Shri BalaLakhendra, Professor at Department of Mass and Communication, B.H.U. inaugurated the workshop as the chief guest. Important stakeholders attending the workshop were Shri Kanhaiya Gupta, PTO, Transport Department, Varanasi; Shri Rajesh Yadav , Traffic Inspector; Shri Rajesh Kumar Misra , Inspector , Police department; Shri Dhirendra Rai, Assistant Professor, B.H.U.; Shri Abhishek Srivastava, Consumer Guild.

Regional media supported the cause and provided good coverage to it.

Prayagraj

Consumer VOICE in association with Consumer Guild, Lucknow organised a stakeholders Consultation cum workshop on Strengthening Road Safety in Uttar Pradesh on 9^th December 2019 at Kulbhaskar Ashram PG College, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

The main speakers who attened the workshop were Shri Harendra Singh Yadav – Traffic Inspector, Dr. Archana Sinha -Principal PG College, Prof. S P Sharma, Ms. Rinki Sharma-Head Projects – Consumer VOICE, Shri Abhishek Srivastava – President Consumers Guild. Students, faculty members, road safety experts, traffic police officials attended the event and discussion took place about Motor Vehicles Act 2019 changed provisions.

Regional media supported the cause and provided good coverage to it.

Bareilly

Consumers Guild –Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and Consumer VOICE in an effort of working towards strengthening road safety in UP organized a workshop in Bareilly at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. LPG Bottling Plant. The main objective of the workshop was to the implementation of the provisions of the new Motor Vehicle Act 2019. The main speakers at workshop were Shri Subhash Chandra Gangwar-SP Traffic, Dr.Anil Gupta- Regional Transport Officer, Shri RP Singh-Additional RTO, Er.Sudhir Gupta- Chairman Institution of Engineers (IEI) Shri Sanjay Thakur-Territory Manager BPCL along with Shri Hemant Upadhyay Advisor Consumer VOICE and Shri Abhishek Srivastava-Chairman-Consumer’s Guild. The programme was attended by commercial drivers of hazardous goods, BPCL Officials, representatives from civil societies, police, transport and traffic departments and media.

Gorakhpur

To strengthen the road safety in the state, Consumers Guild with support from Consumer VOICE organised a stakeholders workshop at Gorakhpur-Uttar Pradesh on 13 November, 2019. The main speakers were Shri DD Mishra, Regional Transport Officer-Gorakhpur, Shri Jaspal Singh-Social Worker, Dr.K.Sharma-Social Worker, Shri Shamshad Alam- Vice-chairman Consumer’s Guild, Shri Sudhir Jha- President Local Vyapar Sabha, Praveen K.Srivastava- Prayas Ek Parivartan Shri Abhishek Srivastava Chairman Consumer Guild along with representatives from civil societies and media were present at the event. The speakers focused on strengthening road safety measures as per the provisions of the new Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019.

31st National Road Safety Week – Bringing Change Through Youth Power

by admin | Jan 24, 2020 | Global Road Safety Initiative

31st National Road Safety Week – Bringing Change Through Youth Power

Road Safety Week is organized every year to increase awareness among the citizens of India. In India every year more than 1.5 lakh people die in road accidents and more than 5 lakh are severely injured. This year the 31^st National Road Safety Week was observed across India from 11^th Jan – 17^th Jan 2020 with Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon’ble Defence Minister of India inaugurating the ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 13^th January. The theme for this year was ‘Bringing change through youth power’. The 5 major risk factors of road safety that were addressed during the week were – Over speeding, helmet, seatbelt, drunk-driving and usage of mobile phones while driving.Consumer VOICE, which has been a pioneer of road safety, observed Road Safety Week along with state partners for Safer Roads in India and highlighted the importance of New Motor Vehicles Act 2019. As per the Ministry’s latest statement in Lok Sabha the number of deaths caused due to road accidents in India reduced by at least 9% in first two months after the amended MV Act came into effect on September 2019. The amendment Act will help to reduce the road fatalities and injuries with the stringent penalties / other provisions and enforce safe driving on Indian roads.

Lucknow, UP

In Lucknow, Consumer VOICE organized an expert session-cum-sensitization workshop activity with participation from consumer organizations, road safety experts, road accident victims, among others. Consumer Coordination Council (an apex body of Consumer Organizations across India) supported the National Road Safety Week . In this event heads of consumer organizations from around 23 states / UTs participated. The event was to echo the voices of road safety and implementation of MVA 2019 across the country.

Addressing the event Ms. Rinki Sharma-Head Projects, Consumer VOICE said, “The amendment Act will help to reduce the road fatalities and injuries and change the road habits of citizens who are breaking the rules”. Besides representatives of consumer organizations, lawyers, road safety experts including road traffic victims were also present in the workshop.

Team members of Consumer VOICE, Delhi Shri Hemanth Upadhyay and Ms.Rinki Sharma along with Shri Abhishek Srivastava – Chairman of Consumer’s Guild, Lucknow submitted a memorandum on road safety to Transport Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh, Shri Dheeraj Prasad Sahu and Shri Ganga Phal, Additional Transport Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh. The main objective of submitting the memorandum is to strengthen road safety and implementation of Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 in the state of Uttar Pradesh and requested the state government to notify the amended rules and implement it on priority without any dilution of the provisions.

Guwahati, Assam

The Assam state government organised a road safety awareness program on 11^th Jan 2020 to sensitize all stakeholders on safer road mobility. Activists from Consumer Legal Protection Forum (CLPF), Assam state partner for Consumer VOICE, actively participated in the workshop to learn and further share their experiences. Consumer Legal Protection Forum appreciated the efforts of the Assam government for the implementation of New Motor Vehicles Act, 2019.

Consumer VOICE along with its state partners also shared a press note appreciating the government for their efforts towards implementation of Motor Vehicles Act 2019.

Media Coverage on Road Safety Week

Road Safety Network urges government to strengthen helmet law

by admin | Jan 10, 2020 | Global Road Safety Initiative

Road Safety Network urges government to strengthen helmet law

Despite having a dismal record of road fatalities of two wheelers in 2019, Government of Gujarat has made the use of helmets optional in the state. The number of casualties stood at 55,336 in 2019 with 43,614 (79%) of them due to non-use of helmets. Of the 7996 fatalities in 2018, 2546 two-wheeler users (riders and pillions) were killed in the state of which 1546 were found not to be using a helmet. These startling facts were hardly a deterrent for the government and it is sad that the government instead of encouraging commuters to wear helmets, has made it optional.In order to avoid similar moves by other states, the members of the Road Safety Network, a national coalition of NGOs working to promote road safety in India, and the Active Traffic Consultative Committee (ATCC) have submitted representation to Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Mr. Nitin Gadkari urging him to immediately bring the amended section 129 of the Motor Vehicle Act into force.

The use of helmets always has been and is still mandatory under the law, including for pillion riders. The amended Motor Vehicles Act in fact takes away any power of the State to provide exemptions, other than that provided to Sikh men wearing turbans. This amendment has been made specifically to strengthen the helmet law to address the high fatality and injury rates amongst users of two-wheelers in the country.

Shri Ashim Sanyal, COO, Consumer VOICE Road Safety Network issued a statement in this regard and rightly pointed out that “the pronouncement of making ‘helmet optional’ by the state of Gujarat is going to set a wrong precedent for other states which is also contrary to the intent of the central legislation which aims to reduce road fatalities and strengthen road safety in India. The Union Government must act to prevent such dilution of law by the states”, adds Mr. Sanyal.

On behalf of The Road Safety Network, Mr Ashim Sanyal, therefore wrote a letter to Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways, to immediately strengthen the helmet law by bringing into force amended Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Click here to read the letter
Click here to read the media coverage

World Day of Remembrance 2019

by admin | Dec 9, 2019 | Global Road Safety Initiative, WDR

World Day of Remembrance 2019

“Life is not a Car Part”

The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR) is commemorated on the third Sunday of November every year – to remember the many millions killed and injured on the world’s roads, together with their families, friends and many others who are also affected. This year’s slogan of World Day of Remembrance is ‘Life is not a Car Part’.Consumer VOICE considers Road Safety as an important safety issue for consumers. Considering this need we are educating consumers and spreading awareness on various road safety aspects through educational and outreach activities. The entire world experiences a number of road accidents and serious injuries. This annual global event represents a significant opportunity to call attention to the pathetic road safety situation in India.

This year Consumer VOICE along with its state partners organised various event on the occasion of WDR :

Media supported the events and provide wide coverage in the states.

Lucknow Uttar Pradesh:

Consumer Guild, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh with support from Consumer VOICE, Delhi, organized “Shraddhanjali Sabha” to pay tribute to road traffic victims on the occasion of World Day of Remembrance on 17th Nov 2019. A peaceful walk started from Kakori By Pass to the entry point of Lucknow – Agra Express Highway, Lucknow Uttar Pradesh and demanded safer roads for all. They also demanded the State Government to strongly implement the new rules of MVA 2019.

More than 50 people participated in the peace walk, including representatives from NGOs, lawyers, students, doctors, Nursing Association, bankers, corporate sector representative, Ex-Army Welfare Federation. Many Victims /Family members joined the event. This year’s slogan of World Day of Remembrance –“Life is not car part” was prominently displayed on banners and placards. Early notification of MVAA was demanded by the participants. The walkathon was ended by two minutes silence (mourn) in the memory of road accident victims and candles were lighted in the remembrance of Road Traffic Victims.

Ambala, Haryana:

Citizens Awareness Group, with support from Consumer VOICE, Delhi organized an event to strengthen road safety and tribute meeting for road safety victims on November 16th November 2019 at Amarapali hotel Ambala-Haryana. Shri Satyanarayan SHO Traffic, Shri Bhushan, Senior Road Safety Inspector, Shri Rashit Bajaj, Senior Road Safety Associate participated and addressed the gathering. They discussed about the positive aspects of theMVAA. Shri Surinder Verma-Chairman Citizens Awareness Group and Smt.Reena Singla Secretary were present along with people from NGOs, representative of CSOs working on road safety, and lawyer’s etc.It was covered well by Media. The tribute meeting was ended by two minutes silence in the memory of road accident victims and candles were lighted in the remembrance of Road Traffic Victims.

Guwahati, Assam:

Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum, Assam, with support from Consumer VOICE, Delhi organized a peaceful walk from Guwahati Medical College Road, Bhangagarh on Sunday 17 November in association with Chakshu, Guwahati to gave tribute on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims and demanded safer roads for all. Dr. Karavi Barman, Principal-In-Charge, NEF Law College inaugurated the peace walk, students, residents ,representatives from NGOs /CSOs working on road safety and lawyers participated in the walk. It was a very successful event and media covered it well through print and online coverage. Strict Implementation of MVAA was demanded by the participants. The walkathon ended with a two-minute silence in the memory of road accident victims.

Delhi:

Bhartiya Manav Kalyan Samiti, Delhi with support from Consumer VOICE organized a peace walk at Mayur vihar in Delhi with participation from Local residents mainly parents of school going children. Citizen demanded for strict implementation of MVAA .A talk was also organized in which Shri S C Sharma of Bhartiya Manav Kalyan Samiti and Shri Hemant Upadhyay Consumer VOICE addressed the parents and children about road safety and main provisions of MVAA. The peace walk was ended by two minutes silence in the memory of road accident victims and candles were lighted in the remembrance of Road Traffic Victims.

Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh:

A Stakeholders Consultation on Strengthening Road Safety in the State of Madhya Pradesh organized by National Centre for Human Settlements & Environment (NCHSE), Bhopal with support from Consumer VOICE (New Delhi) on 19th Nov 2019. The objective of the event was to mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims and to create awareness about the road safety to minimize road accidents. Shri Naresh Annotia, DSP,Traffic stressed that youth need to be disciplined and follow traffic rules for not only to reduce the chances of road accidents, but to help smooth flow of traffic and reduce vehicular pollution in cities. Shri Himanshu Tiwari, Subedar (Traffic) spoke at length about the magnitude of road accidents, their causes and the lives it takes every year in India and in Madhya Pradesh. He explained various precautionary measures and traffic signage which every motor vehicle driver should know and follow to remain safe.

During discussion it was highlighted that despite Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019 became effective from 1st September 2019 and several states have implemented it, Government of Madhya Pradesh is yet to take a decision to implement it. It was also highlighted that the new provisions of MVAA have been made with the view to discourage offences and that the increase in penalties are not only a means of deterrent but also not high in real term if one consider the price escalation during the 30 years.

Click here to read all the media updates

Road Accidents in India – A Stark Reality for All

by admin | Nov 22, 2019 | Global Road Safety Initiative

Road Accidents in India – A Stark Reality for All

151,417 road fatalities in 2018
467,044 road traffic accidents
479,418 injuries registered in 2018 Children below 18 years accounted for 9977 (6.6%) road deaths and Young & adults in age group of 18 – 35 years accounted for 72,737 (48%) deaths

Least one can say about these facts are that they are alarming!

Road traffic continues to be a major developmental issue, a public health concern and is a leading cause of death and injury across the world killing more than 1.35 million globally in 2016 as reported in the Global Status report on Road Safety 2018 with 90% of these casualties taking place in the developing countries.

India, unfortunately ranks at the top with the highest number of fatalities at about 11% share in the world. It is followed by China and US. The “Road accidents in India 2018″ is an effort by the Ministry to highlight the state-wise data and causes of the accidents and fatalities.

The total number of accident related deaths in 2018 stood at 1,51,417 an increase of 2.3% from 2017. About 85% of the accident related deaths happen in the most productive age group of 18-60. Road accidents deaths not only cause severe trauma to the family of the victim but they also result in huge economic loss to the nation. Consumer VOICE remains deeply committed to reducing road accidents in the country and has been taking several measures to reduce the same.

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Role of Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019:

ROAD SAFETY INITIATIVE

The most important initiative taken by the Ministry this year in respect of Road Safety has been the enactment of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019 which, provides for a sharp hike in penalties for traffic violations. The other provisions of the Act include setting up of a National Road Safety Board, protection of “Good Samaritan”, cashless treatment during golden hour, provision of third party insurance, constitution of a Motor Vehicle fund with increased compensation for hit and run, automated fitness testing for vehicles, introduction of the provision for recall of vehicles etc.

Overview of Road Accidents in India:

A total of 4,67,044 road accidents have been reported by States and Union Territories (UTs) in the calendar year 2018, claiming 1,51,417 lives and causing injuries to 4,69,418 persons. In percentage terms, in 2018, the number of accidents has increased by 0.46 percent, persons killed has increased by 2.4% and injuries have decreased by 0.33 percent over 2017. Road accident severity measured by the number of persons killed per 100 accidents, has seen an increase of 0.6 percentage points in 2018 over the previous year.

During 2018, like the previous two years, young adults in the age group of 18 – 45 years accounted for nearly 69.6 percent of road accident victims. The working age group of 18 – 60 accounted for a share of 84.7 percent in the total road accident deaths.

Risk Factors

Some of the risk factors which accounted for road accidents in India in 2018 are:

Over speeding	64.4%
Wrong Lane Driving	5.8%
Use of Mobile Phones	2.4%
Drunken Driving	2.8%
Non-use of helmets	29%
Non-Use of seat belts	16%

State wise Data:

The State of Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents (63, 920) in 2018 while the highest numbers reported as killed in 2018 were in the State of Uttar Pradesh (22,256). Both these States have maintained their leads in terms of number of accidents and number of persons killed since 2017 despite the several road safety initiatives taken by both the Central and State Government.

Top 5 States:

Tamil Nadu continues to retain the first rank in terms of accidents across States in 2018, despite a reduction of 2.5%. The State accounts for about 13.7% of the total accidents in the country in 2018. Similarly, the State of Madhya Pradesh maintains its second position in 2018 despite a reduction in accidents by 2,002. The State of Uttar Pradesh moved from the fourth position in 2017 to third in 2018 registering an increase in accidents by 3,785 (9.8%). The State of Karnataka also moved down from third in 2017 to fourth in 2018 registering a decline in accidents by 835 of ie a decline of 2% from 2017. The State of Kerala maintains its fifth position in 2018 by registering an increase of 4.4% in the number of accidents.

Road Fatalities:

Uttar Pradesh continues to retain the first rank in terms of accident related deaths across States in 2018, registering a 10.6% increase in the number of persons. The State accounts for about 14.7% of the total accident related deaths in the country in 2018. The State of Maharashtra occupies the second rank in terms of accident related deaths in 2018 and has moved up the rank by registering 997 road accidents.

Top 5 Cities:

It will be seen that Chennai ranks first followed by Delhi, Bengluru, Bhopal and Indore in terms of accidents in 2018. While in terms of those killed in 2018, Delhi ranks first followed by Chennai Kanpur, Jaipur and Bengaluru.

Chennai ranks first in road accidents (7,580) and number of persons injured (7,438). Delhi ranks first in number of fatalities (1,690). In terms of road-user categories, the share of two-wheeler riders in total road accident deaths has been the highest (36.5%) in 2018. Pedestrian road-users comprise 15% of those killed in road accidents during 2018 confirming the share provided by WHO.

Click here for the detailed MoRTH Report

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