Road Safety in Southeast Asia

Syllabus: GS2/Governance

Context

• A deadly fire accident on a Thai school bus has reignited a debate about road safety in Southeast Asia.

Road Accidents in Southeast Asia

• The Region has 11 Member States: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
• Southeast Asia accounted for 3,30,223 of the 1.19 million estimated global road traffic deaths in 2021, accounting for 28% of the global burden.
• Vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and two or three-wheelers constitute 66% of all reported road traffic deaths in the southeast Asia region.

• Challenges: A high prevalence of motorised two and three-wheelers, inadequate traffic injury data, poor pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure, and limited emergency services.

Road Accidents in India

• According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), 153,972 persons were killed in road crashes in the year 2021. This corresponds to 11.3 deaths per 100,000 population. 
• With 11% share in total fatalities due to road crashes, India ranks 3rd globally for road crashes. 
• Data indicates that traffic violations is the cause of road crashes in 90% of incidents in India. Of these, speeding accounts for 70% of the cases. 
• Over the last decade (2009-2019) road traffic crashes have been the 13th largest contributor to health burden in India.

Government Initiatives

• National Road Safety Policy India, 2010: It emphasized the need for better road infrastructure, stricter enforcement of traffic rules, enhanced emergency medical services, public awareness campaigns, and improved post-crash care.
• Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety (SCCoRS): It was established In 2014 to address the issue, guide and monitor all states and Union Territories to bring down crash fatalities in the country. 
• India signed Brasilia Declaration: India was one amongst the initial 100+ countries to have signed the Brasilia Declaration in 2015 committing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3.6 i.e.to half the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2030. 
• Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019: The act brought about higher penalties for traffic violations, including speeding, drunk driving, and not wearing helmets or seat belts.
  • It introduced stricter provisions for driving licenses and imposed stricter penalties for offenses by juveniles.
• A steering committee formed in 2023 to work on e-enforcement uniformity across India Under the directions of SCCoRS.
  • It will prepare a concept plan for implementation of a nation-wide roll out of effective e-enforcement.

Way Ahead

• Global best practices show that countries that adopted a Systems Approach have been able to achieve their targets of 50% reduction in fatalities or are close to achieving it.
  • Countries like Australia and Sweden have gone beyond the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3.6 and dug deep into the issue. India can, therefore, learn from these global best practices. 
• India has done substantial research on road safety through premiere institutions like Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).
  • The government can collaborate with these institutes to improve policies and action plans. 
  • The researchers are working on developing models that can help government make quick data based decisions customized for different road stretches. 
• The corporate sector can play a role in helping strengthen road safety by funding research, spreading awareness, making strict health policies for drivers, or provide roadside infrastructure for resting. 

Source: IE