Trainers Road Safety Manual

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
Trainers Road Safety Manual

1. INTRODUCTION

Overview
This topic discusses the road and accident scenarios in India. The chapter further emphases on lessons
and measures from developed countries, which can be adopted in India to reduce occurrence of
accidents.
In order to appreciate the topic it has been subdivided into following headings:
• Trends in Roads and Highways Development
• Problem of Road Accidents in India
• Characteristics of Road Accidents
• Causes of Accidents
• Global and Indian Road Safety Scenarios
• Factors Responsible for Success Stories in Road Safety
• Role of Highway Professionals in Highway Safety
• Project Background
• Using the Trainers Road Safety Manual

1.1
Introduction

1.1 Trends in Roads and Highways Development

The rapid socio-economic development taking place in India since Independence has brought
in its wake a large expansion of the transportation system. Of the available modes of
transport; road transport, because of its easy availability, flexibility in operation, adaptability
to individual needs, door to door service and reliability, has become increasingly popular and
its share in the total transportation has been steadily increasing. Though India has only 1% of
the worlds motor vehicle population but 6% of the worlds reported road traffic accidents
occur in India. The motor vehicle population in India has grown from 4.5 million in 1980 to
60 million in the year 2004 as given in Figure 1.1.1.

200 km
70 Expressways

60 60 65,570 kms National Highways

1,28,000 kms
50
State Highways
Roads in
million km
40

32
30 4,70,000 kms
Vehicles in Major District Roads
24 million
20 19.5

10 2,650,000 kms
4.5 Village & Other Roads
2 2.2 2.5 3 3.3
0
1980 1990 1992 1995 2004

Figure 1.1.1: Growth of Vehicle Population and Figure 1.1.2: Composition of Indian Road Network
Growth of Road Network Over the Years

India has nearly 3.3 million kilometers of roads, around 2 million kilometers of roads are
surfaced and more than 1 million kilometers of roads in India are constructed of gravel,
crushed stone, or earth. As per figure available in year 2004, there are 200 km of
Expressways, 65,570 km National Highways, 1,28,000 km State Highways, 4,70,000 km
Major District Roads and 2,650,000 km Village & other Roads (Figure 1.1.2). The National
Highways in India constitute 2 percent of total length, but they carry about 40 percent of the
total road traffic.

Road safety has become a complex & multifaceted problem in India. Accident, not only
claims lives, but also affects the economic well being of a country. The economic losses due
to accidents, demand greater attention of society, call for scientific approach for finding
solutions to the problem both by traffic engineers and planners alike.

Figure 1.1.3: Mumbai-Pune Expressway Figure 1.1.4: Toll Plaza - DND

1.2
Trainers Road Safety Manual

Organizations responsible for development of

roads in India
• Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways
• National Highways Authority of India
• Public Works Department
• Border Roads Organization
• National Rural Road Organization
• Development Authorities
• Irrigation Department
• Electricity Department
• Steel Authority of India
• MES Road Municipal Roads
• Others Figure 1.1.5: National Highway Development
Projects
Draft National Road Safety Policy Table 1.1.1: Road Length by Categories in India
(as on 31st March 2002)
The number of road accidents and fatalities have Category Road Length
been growing in recent years, which call for (in kms.)
concerted and multi-disciplinary preventive and
A. HIGHWAYS 1981409
remedial efforts. As road accidents involve roads,
motor vehicles as also the human being, the National PWD Roads 921248
Road Safety Policy needs to address on a holistic
basis, issues covering road engineering, signage, i) National Highways 58112
vehicle design, education of road users and ii) State Highways 137711
enforcement of traffic safety measures. It is also
recognized that regardless of jurisdictions, the iii) Other PWD Roads 725425
Central and State Governments have a joint Panchayat Raj Roads 1060161
responsibility in making a dent on the incidence of
road accidents and fatalities. i) Ziila Parishad Roads 499462
In the light of this, the Government of India has ii) Village Panchayat Roads 412595
considered it relevant to frame a Draft National
Policy on Road Safety (2005) covering both iii) CD / Panchayat Samiti 148104
preventive and post-accident aspects of Road Safety Roads
encompassing initiatives of public policy as well as B. URBAN ROADS 250122
implementation aspects, as also the responsibilities
i) Municipal Roads 226706
of various stakeholders. The important points
covered in the policy are: ii) MES Roads 11918
• Raising Awareness About Road Safety Issues iii) Railway Roads 10325
• Providing Enabling Legal, Institutional and
Financial Environment for Road Safety iv) Major Port Roads 689
• Road Safety Information Database v) Minor Port Roads 484
• Safer Road Infrastructure C. PROJECT ROADS 225116
• Safer Vehicles
i) Forest Roads 130346
• Safer Drivers
ii) Irrigations Roads 61627
• Safety for Vulnerable Road Users
• Road Traffic Safety Education and Training iii) Electricity Roads 4369
• Traffic Enforcement iv) Sugarcane Authority 23319
• Emergency Medical Services for Road v) Coal Mine Authority 2985
Accidents
• HRD & Research for Road Safety vi) Steel Authority of India 2470
D. RURAL ROADS 26697
INDIA 2483344

1.3
Introduction

1.2 Problem of Road Accidents in India

There has been tremendous growth of both road
Accident Trends in India
network and road traffic in India. While it is
good for economic and social development of the Road Accidents Persons Killed Persons Injured

country, it has bought in its wake the problem of 450

Road Accidents in
400
road accidents resulting in injury and fatalities to 350
300

thousand
road users. The situation is worsening as can be 250
200
seen from Figure 1.2.1. 150
100
50
Road accidents and fatalities have been 0

2004
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
increasing over the past three decades increasing
Yea
from a figure of 14500 in 1970 to about 83,000 r

in 2002. This is partly due to the increase in Figure 1.2.1: Road Accidents in India,
1970-2002 (In thousands)
number of vehicles on the road and partly due to
the absence of a coordinated official policy to control the problem. The number of fatalities
has been increasing at the rate of five percent a year over the past two decades. The fatality
rate per million vehicles has remained around 1.4 for the past few years. The phenomenal
growth of road transport has brought along with it the serious problem of traffic accidents.
The situation in India is worsening and road accidents have been increasing over the past
twenty years (Figure 1.2.1).
Safety on National and State Highways
Natinal
National
About one-third of fatalities occur on National Highway
Highways and another one third occur on State Other 33%
Roads
Highways. Thus, National Highways, which 34%
constitute about 2 percent, and State Highway
about 4 per cent of the total road network
together account for over 65 percent of the total
fatalities (Figure 1.2.2). With the National
Highway Development Project and other road
upgradation programmes being undertaken in State
States and production of modern automobiles Highway
by vehicle manufactures, speeds of vehicles 33%
would increase and accident scenario is likely
Figure 1.2.2: Fatalities on Road Network in 1998
to become still worse.
Figure 1.2.3 shows the consolidated results of a Percent
70
detailed study done on 14 locations on national
highways around the country. These data show 60
that, even on national highways, pedestrians
constitute over 30% of the fatalities and all 50
Impacting Vehicle Victims
vulnerable road users put together constitute
40
more than 65%. Car occupants constitute about
15% and bus occupants less than 5%. These 30
results run contrary to the popular perception of
people reading the newspapers that bus, truck and 20
car occupants are the majority of the victims on
10
rural highways.
0
Figure 1.2.3 also indicates that, in fatal crashes, Truck Bus Car TSR MTW Bicycle Ped

trucks are involved in a vast majority of cases. In

Figure 1.2.3: Proportion of Road Users Killed
the event of a crash, the road user with a lower on National Highway
mass usually suffers more severe injuries.

1.4
Trainers Road Safety Manual

Safety in Metropolitan Cities

The total number of road traffic fatalities in metropolitan cities of India are shown in
Table 1.2.1 The issues regarding traffic crashes in urban areas may be understood by the fact that at
present less than one in 40 families owns a car in India and all urban roads are used by pedestrians
and motorised as well as non-motorised vehicles.
Table 1.2.1: Road Traffic Fatalities in Metropolitan Cities of India in 2002
Kanpur 438 Madurai 144
Delhi 1736 Vishakhapatnam 190
Jaipur 312 Chennai 671
Nagpur 255 Bhopal 162
Coimbatore 157 Pune 316
Hyderabad 445 Mumbai 361
Bangalore 659 Patna 80
Indore 173 Ahmedabad 223
Lucknow 311 Kolkata 452
Table 1.2.2 shows the number of two-wheelers and three-wheelers as proportion of all vehicles
registered in Indian cities. Studies from differed cities also show that bicycles constitute 10% - 35% of
all trips in most cities of India. This shows vulnerable road users constitute the vast majority of the
road accidents in Indian cities.
Table 1.2.2: Share of Motorisd Two-Wheelers and
Three-Wheeled Scooter Taxis in Indian Cities
City Percent
MTW TSR
Ahmedabad 77 7
Bangalore 73 6
Kolkata 44 2
Delhi 66 3
Cochin 60 13
Mumbai 41 12
Hyderabad 87 7
Jaipur 74 2
Lucknow 80 3
Chennai 73 4
Nagpur 78 6
Patna 69 5
Pune 74 8
Figure 1.2.4: Traffic Police Personnel Investigating
Accident in Urban Area

Table 1.2.3: Proportion of Motor Vehicles Involved

Of the peak hour bicycle fatalities, 62%
in Fatal Crashes in Delhi and Mumbai
involve collisions with buses or trucks. And, of
Vehicles involves Total
all bicycle fatalities, 73% occur at mid-block.
Table 1.2.3 shows the proportion of various Location Truck Bus Car TSR MTW
vehicles involved in fatal crashes in Delhi and Mumbai 52 16 24 3 5 100
Mumbai. Heavy vehicles are involved in a
Delhi 40 33 16 4 7 100
significantly larger proportion of fatal crashes
than cars. This is because heavy vehicles use the centre or the kerb side lanes which are also used by
vulnerable road users. There are differences in speeds and masses of the conflicting road users sharing
the same road space in fatal crashes.

1.5
Introduction

1.3 Characteristics of Road Accidents

Road User and Accidents
In urban areas motor vehicle occupants constitute 5-10 per cent of the fatalities and the rest
are vulnerable road users. On highways, the proportions are 68 and 32 per cent respectively as
evident in Table 1.3.1. Though the motor vehicle fatalities are higher on highways than in
urban areas, as would be expected. A vast majority (68%) of those getting killed on highways
in India comprise vulnerable road users and this fact should be the guiding factor in future
design considerations.
Table 1.3.1: Proportion of Road Users Killed at Different Locations in India
Location Type of road user, per cent
Truck Bus Car TSR MTW HAPV Bicycle Pedestrian Total
Mumbai 2 1 2 4 7 0 6 78 100
Delhi 2 5 3 3 21 3 10 53 100
Highways 14 3 15 ~ 24 1 11 32 100
Source: Evaluation of capacity augmentation projects of National Highways and State Highways (2000), Final Report, Ministry
of Surface Transport, GOI, New Delhi

Vehicles and Accidents

The data in Table 1.3.2 indicate that crash patterns on rural and urban roads are more similar
than would be expected based on western experience. This is probably because there is high
density of settlements all along the highways and this probably results in the use of many
sections of the highway like an urban arterial road. Therefore, safety would be enhanced
mainly by separating local and through traffic on different roads, or by separating slow and
fast traffic on the same road, and by providing convenient and safe road crossing facilities at
frequent intervals to vulnerable road users and by making sure that the design guidelines
regarding issues like super elevation, etc. are observed strictly.
Table 1.3.2: Proportions of Vehicles Involved in Fatal Accidents
Location Vehicles involved, per cent Total
Truck Bus Car TSR MTW
Mumbai 52 16 24 3 3 100
Delhi 40 33 16 4 7 100
Highways 65 16 15 1 3 100
Source: Evaluation of capacity augmentation projects of National Highways and State Highways (2000), Final
Report, Ministry of Surface Transport, GOI, New Delhi

Figure 1.3.1: Head-on Collision on NH-12 Figure 1.3.2: Accident Between Car and Bus
near Bhopal

1.6
Trainers Road Safety Manual

Age Group and Accidents

The fatality per capita indices for different age groups for India, measured as number of
deaths per 100,000 population for the particular age, is given in Table 1.3.3. The fatality rate
is maximum for age-group between 15 to 45 years followed by 0 to 4 years and 5 to 14 years.
Table 1.3.3: Fatality Rates per 100,000 Population for Three Age-groups in India

Age-group Fatality rate per 100,000 population

0-4 years 19

5-14 years 17.1

15-44 years 20.6

Source: Database World Health Report, WHO 1999

Males are more likely to be injured or killed in road traffic crashes. Based on the 1998, WHO
database, the fatality rate for males, estimated at 28.8 per 100,000 population, was almost 3
times the rate of females, estimated at 10.8 per 100,000 population.

Figure 1.3.3: Pedestrian -Vehicle Figure 1.3.4: Overturning of LGV due to

Conflicts Create Unsafe Environment Poorly Maintained Shoulder

Characteristics of Accidents in India

• Around 15% of the total road traffic fatalities in India occur in 23 metros.
• Non-motorised transport road users consisting of pedestrians, cyclists and other slow moving
vehicles are the most vulnerable group and account for 60 to 80% of the fatalities.
• Motorised modes like, trucks and buses, are associated with 50-70% of fatal road crashes in urban
areas.
• The issues concerning safety of non-motorised transport have not been given adequate importance.
Policies need to be developed so that these groups are included as an integral part of traffic in the
planning of new highway and area planning schemes.
• Crash patterns show that the self-segregation of the modes is not sufficient to ensure the safety of
vulnerable bicyclists. While midblock crashes are not usually a serious concern in homogeneous
regimented traffic conditions, this category dominates in Indian cities.
• It is essential to provide safe segregated facilities for non-motorised road users (pedestrians,
bicyclists and rickshaws on all major urban corridors where vehicles speeds are likely to be greater
than 30 km/h.
• All residential and shopping areas must implement traffic calming techniques so that no vehicles
can operate at speeds greater than 30 km/h.

1.7
Introduction

1.4 Causes of Accidents

The causes of road accidents are several and can be divided broadly into following four
categories.
• Road Engineering
• Traffic Engineering
• Lack of Monitoring Agencies
• Human Negligence and Error
Road Engineering
The blind curves, disturbing gradients, faulty alignments of roads are the possible reasons for
road accidents. Another reason is the nature of our highways. Major roads have not been
engineered to accommodate sharp curves, hills and bumps. Ironically, these designs call for
slow speeds causing monotony in driving. Additional, dull landscapes, and the repetitive
patterns of oncoming headlights, trees, poles and wide lines can lead to a dangerous, trance
like state known as “highway hypnosis”, which deadens drivers’ senses and slows their
reaction time.
Traffic Engineering
Though Traffic Engineering is a part and parcel of Road Engineering it has never received its
due priority. The tendency of neglecting cautionary sign boards by the drivers is one of the
main causes of accidents. The absence of direction signs at the intersecting roads, high traffic
density on National Highways and State Highways, high speed while passing through
populated areas are also contributing to road accidents.
Lack of Monitoring Agencies
The non-cooperation from road-related authorities are contributing heavily in road accidents
by their apathies and inaction to serious problems. The authorities are contributing very
largely in increasing the road accidents by allowing movement of non-road worthy vehicles,
as well as movement of extra lengthy, abnormally loaded, over projected goods loaded
vehicles without proper cautionary indication board and sometimes without compliance of
required safety measures.
Human Negligence and Error
The concept of driver fatigue seldom gets the
importance it deserves. To cite an example
whenever a truck or bus accident takes place the
press/police invariably reports it as a case of
negligent driving. No body enquires as to why the
driver was driving negligently? This reason has
seldom been investigated. The actual reason may be
that the driver was probably tired, drunk,
overworked, had not rested, had inadequate sleep or
was drowsy. During accidents all possible causes of
fatal accidents as drivers’ negligence, over-
Figure 1.4.1: Accident resulting due to driver
speeding de-boarding, victim’s fault of hit and run, negligence
but driver fatigue has never been listed. Driver
fatigue is a complex problem and there is not simple solution to fix it. It is to be accepted as a
fact that – driver fatigue is very much a road safety problem. It is better to be aware with the
various issues connected with driver fatigue sooner than later. The single greatest cause of
fatigue is alcohol consumption. Alcohol is a depressant and even one drink can be enough to
induce fatigue.

1.8
Trainers Road Safety Manual

Causes of Accidents - Highways

Studies on National Highways have shown that a 2% 4%
3%
substantial number of accidents occur on straight 5%

stretches due to high speed. Head-on-collisions take

place due to high speed and bad overtaking
practices. Negligent driving and overspeeding is as
high as in 90% of drivers (refer Figure 1.4.2).
Maximum casualties occur in cars followed by
pedestrians and trucks. There are insufficient
pedestrian facilities, which in combination with 86%

vulnerability of pedestrians, their poor knowledge of Drivers Fault Bad Roads Mechanical Fault

traffic rules and tendency to make errors leads to a Bad Weather Others

very large involvement of pedestrians in road

accidents. There are significant number of four-arm Figure 1.4.2: Some Commonly found Causes
junctions with accident problems, primarily due to of Accidents on Highways
insufficient sight-distance, lack of traffic guidance, absence of proper markings, poor road
geometrics and encroachment problems.
An excellent and pioneering work in road safety is being carried out in Maharashtra by ‘Road
Accident Prevention Committee’ set up in Oct. 1997, under the chairmanship of Shri S.R.
Tambe. After inspecting spots and sites at number of accident spots the committee found a
definite relationship between occurrence of accidents and locational characteristics of the
sites. Some examples of such accident blackspots, which are not restricted to Maharashtra
alone, are:
• A road rising to a summit and then sloping down specially when road curves immediately
after the summit
• A small level stretch between two long gradients
• A summit at the end of longish rising gradient which in turn follows either a good
horizontal stretch or a downward gradient
• Long downward gradients ending in fairly high bank or on a two-lane bridge
• Bad shoulders with large edge drops specially where cart tracks adjoined or at curves
• Absence of advance direction sign for a branch road taking off from the main road
• Village having residential areas and facilities on opposite sides of a highway
• Non-provision of proper bus-stops and truck lay-byes forcing vehicles to park on the main
carriageway
• Trees and shrubs on the inside of curves. Also tree branches projecting close to
carriageway at height less than 6 m

Figure 1.4.3: Car Lost Control and Hit the Road Side Figure 1.4.4: Head-on Collision on National
Tree Highway

1.9
Introduction

1.5 Global & Indian Road Safety Scenarios

Fatality Rates
A comparison of fatality rates in different parts of UK 1.6

the world indicate that India is by no means the Japan

Australia
1.74
1.84
worst country, with a current figure of 25.27 New Zealand 3.29

deaths per 10,000 registered vehicles (Figure Philippines

Iran
5.33
8.12

1.5.1). However, it is a cause of grave concern as Thailand 11.16

this still indicates a very hazardous road network,

Vietnam 14.42
Sri Lanka 15.53

being at least fifteen times the level of more Pakistan 18.69

India 25.27
industrialised countries such as the UK and China 26.2

Sweden. When compared with the global scenario Kazakistan

Nepal
36.5
62.73

it is observed that the fatalities per thousand Bangladesh 85.58

107
vehicles are very high in India. India’s road safety
Tajikistan

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

situation 10 to 15 times worse off when compared

Figure 1.5.1: Fatality Rates of Selected
to many high-income developed countries. Countries
Vulnerable Road Users
There are clear regional and national differences in
the distribution of road user mortality as seen in
Figure 1.5.2. Vulnerable Road Users – pedestrians
and cyclists – tend to account for a much greater
proportion of road traffic deaths in low-income
and middle-income countries, than in high-income
countries. The type of traffic, the mix of different
types of road user, and the type of crashes in low-
income and middle-income countries differ
significantly from those in high-income countries.
Their traffic patterns have generally not been
experienced by high-income countries in the past
and so technologies and policies cannot be
automatically transferred from high-income to Figure 1.5.2: Road Users Killed in Various
low-income countries without adaptation. A good Modes of Transport as a Proportion of All Road
example of this provided by that of Vietnam, Traffic Deaths
where rapid motorization has occurred as a result of the proliferation of small and inexpensive
motorcycles. These motorcycles, whose number is likely to remain high, have recently been
joined by a large influx of passenger motor vehicles, creating increased crash risks because of
the mix of different types of road user.
The pedestrians, bicyclists and motorised two-
wheelers riders constitute a larger proportion of
road accident victims in India than in Highly
Motorised Countries. Pedestrians, bicyclists and
motorised two-wheelers riders, who constitute the
vulnerable road users, constitute 60-80 percent of
all traffic fatalities in India as depicted in Figure
1.5.3. This flows logically from the fact that this
class of road users forms the majority of those on
the road. In addition, because metallic or energy
absorbing materials do not protect Vulnerable
Road Users, they sustain relatively serious injuries
even at low velocity crashes. Figure 1.5.3: Proportion of Different Types of
Road Users Killed in Delhi, Mumbai, National
Highways in India and in Highly Motorised
Countries.

1.10
Trainers Road Safety Manual

Composition of Vehicles Involved

in Accidents
The proportion of car is much less in
India than in the Highly Motorised
Countries (13% vs 56-80%) and that the
proportion of motorised two-wheelers
(MTW) much higher (70% vs 5-18%)
as depicted in Figure 1.5.4. These
differences in fleet composition affect
the traffic and accident patterns
enormously. Figure 1.5.4: Proportion of Vehicles Registered in India,
Germany, Japan and USA
Accidents vs GDP
Figure 1.5.5 shows the data for the total
number of people killed in road accident
per million persons in different
countries plotted against the per capita
incomes of the respective countries in
US dollars per year.
Among low income countries, India
occupies a middle position at about 80
fatalities per year per million
population. However, these data show
that most middle-income countries have
much higher fatality rates than low
income and high-income countries. On Figure 1.5.5: Fatalities per Million Population for Different
Countries
the other hand, at each level of income,
the ratio between the best (lowest rate) and the worst (highest rate) countries is a factor of 4-5.
At present the lowest rates tend to be in the poorest countries and the highest among countries
whose income levels are between USD 3,000 and 15,000 per capita GDP. For countries with
incomes above USD 15,000, all values are below mid-range. However, some countries do
experience low per capita fatality rates at all levels of income. The problem is that as the GDP
of India will rise the accident rates will also increase. So challenge lies in decreasing the
accident rate in India.
India’s road fatalities are continuously 8000

increasing, while many countries are able 7000

to achieve a continuous decline in road 6000

Number of Fatalities

fatalities (Figure 1.5.6). India and Japan 5000

India
had almost the same level of road 4000
Japan
3000
fatalities at the beginning of 1970s. 2000
Whereas Japan, with its massive road 1000

safety programmes, was able to reduce

the fatalities to almost half by 1980. The
1 9 7 (R )
98 )
79
19 8

81

1 9 (R)
19 9
19 0
71

75

83

85

91
19 0

73

77

19 2
94

19 6 ( R
19 4

87

19 3

20 9
00
7

9
8
7

9
9

9
19
19

19
19

19

19
19

19

19
19

19

9
9
19

fatalities almost doubled in India by then. Year

Japan has more or less stabilized the

situation since then but for India fatality Figure 1.5.6: Comparative Accident Scenario of India and
graph is continuously and steeply rising. Japan
The fatality rate on Indian roads is
exceptionally high as compared to that of the World. India’s share in the World vehicle
population is only 1%, whereas in terms of fatalities it is 6%.

1.11
Introduction

1.6 Factors Responsible for Success Stories in Road Safety

Many countries have been able to achieve success in significantly decreasing their road
accidents and fatalities. Common policy features, among countries with highly successful
highway safety programmes, include:
(i) Highway safety is recognized as an important national public health or a quality of life
issue.
(ii) There is a pro-active and preventive approach to road safety. It generally includes:
• Fully integrated and nationally accepted comprehensive safety plan
• Cooperative and effective involvement of state/local governments and safety
community for achieving safety goals and targets
• Specific fatality and injury reduction targets
(iii) There is a strong national leadership commitment and a significant financial support for
safety improvements.
Important Enabling Measures for Better Highway Safety
The national commitment and policies, to achieve their objectives of road safety, are
supported by various enabling measures. These measures essentially and invariably included:
• An institutional mechanism, decision-making process and management policies and
procedures for prioritizing elements of highway safety programmes.
• Funding mechanism and resource provision, analytical tools, and legislative policies that
guide and support highway safety decisions and priorities.
• An R &D culture and development of successful highway safety programmes produced
by the decision-making and agency coordination / interaction.
• Mechanism for monitoring of progress toward local and national objectives.
One of the essential highway safety support activities, required for the above enabling
measures to achieve better highway safety, is the existence of a proper ‘Safety Data
Collection System’. A good road safety information database, apart from having data on road
accidents and casualties, will have data on characteristics of roads, vehicles, road users and
other factors and data on traffic exposure collected through traffic counts and travel habit
surveys.

Local Policy

Annual Safety Data Collection

Report

Safety
Monitoring
Performance Management Data Analysis

System
Program System Output
Implementation

Project Prioritization &

Program Development

Figure 1.6.1: Safety Management System

1.12
Trainers Road Safety Manual

Lessons to be Learned From Overseas

Industrialised countries have achieved considerable success over the last 30 years in tackling
their road safety problems. Although these improvements have been achieved through the
application of measures in various sectors, one of the most consistently successful and cost-
effective areas of investment has been in the field of road planning and traffic engineering.
The gradual elimination of the most hazardous locations and the adoption of a safety
conscious approach to the design and planning of new road networks have contributed greatly
towards improving traffic safety. Even though the eventual solutions may differ, the
approaches and systematic methods used in industrialised countries are readily applicable to
India.
Adoption of proven strategies, such as "accident blackspot" elimination, safety audits and
more safety-conscious design and planning of road networks, offer a major opportunity to
make a significant and lasting improvement to road safety. It would be sad if the mistakes of
the industrialised countries were repeated and the lessons they have learned were not
implemented.
Of major importance in improving safety is good, accurate and comprehensive accident data.
This enables the problem to be properly defined and suitable remedial measures devised. This
needs to be established on a common nation-wide basis.
The impact that engineering can have upon safety
problems can be maximised by applying measures at
various stages in the development of road networks.
When good design principles are applied, it is possible
to avoid many problems by planning and designing new
or rehabilitating existing roads in a safety conscious
manner. Where this has not been done, it is possible,
even if more expensive, to improve existing roads by
the subsequent introduction of safety or environment
related measures, for example, selective road closures Figure 1.6.2: Police Personal Inspecting
or road humps to reduce speeds. the Vehicle

Finally, it is possible to identify hazardous sections of the road network so that appropriate
remedial measures can be undertaken to reduce the likelihood and severity of road accidents
at those locations. This has proven to be one of the most cost-effective ways of improving
road safety.
These measures offer scope to improve safety through
their influence on driver behaviour, traffic speeds,
route choices and so on. However, differences in
behaviour and traffic type may make the measures that
are applicable for industrialised countries less effective
in India. Where possible, the measures have been
amended in the light of Indian conditions but it should
be stressed that there is still the need for evaluative
research whenever methods new to India are
introduced.
Finally, industrialised countries have accepted the Figure 1.6.3: Traffic Volunteer Assisting
multi-disciplinary nature of the problem and each the Pedestrian in Crossing Roads
organisation takes the necessary actions within its respective area of responsibility. In contrast
in India, the road safety responsibilities are, despite a significant amount of goodwill by
concerned people and organisations and the Road Safety Cell within the Ministry of Shipping,
Road Transport & Highways, still fragmented and with little overall co-ordination. It is
essential that there is an increased effort to get the key agencies to work together
(engineering, education, enforcement, political will) so that they reinforce each other's efforts.

1.13
Introduction

1.7 Role of Highway Professionals in Highway Safety

The annual death toll on our Nation’s Highways is rising every year. Roadway safety, in fact,
has become a serious public health issue for our country. Transport and highway planning
historically has focused on capacity and congestion with some attention to operation and
management. Over the past decade, safety has gained some attention and visibility in highway
circles.
Safety Practices in Highway Departments Abroad
A review of road safety and design practices oversees, specially in highly motorised
countries, indicate that highway safety is often stated to be the “number one goal” by
transportation-related agencies. More important than merely declaring safety as a mission, it
is essential that agency safety goals and objectives are supported by the organisational units at
various levels. The safety goals, strategies and targets and the roles and responsibilities are
defined comprehensively and well-documented. The persons are designated and empowered
to coordinate the safety planning and management process.
One may come across a few phrases like “safety conscious planning” and “safety
management” in the literature of road safety engineering. These processes and methodologies
have been developed after it has been well-established that engineers and planners can
certainly contribute to improvement in road safety by adopting proven techniques for safety
management. By, generally, making the road environment more “forgiving” and avoiding the
construction of new hazardous features, much of the human suffering and cost of road
accidents can be avoided. This can, obviously, be achieved only if highway professionals are
involved in road safety from the very beginning. Road Safety considerations should be a key
decision-making parameter in evaluating projects and expenditures. Under any road safety
programming highway professionals are expected to address roadway hotspots –black spot
improvements by identifying and prioritising high-crash locations and implementing
countermeasures as early as possible. Also another aspect of safety activities of a highway
department would be to integrate engineering, enforcement and education activities taking
into account the needs of various categories of road user such as passengers, drivers,
pedestrians and cyclists. AASHTO (1983) suggests the following major components of an
effective safety management system.
• Communication, coordination, and cooperation among the organizations responsible for
the roadway, human, and vehicle safety elements
• A focal point for coordination of the development, establishment, and implementation
of safety management among agencies responsible for these major safety elements
• Short- and long-term highway safety goals to address identified safety problems
• Collection, analysis, and linkage of highway safety data
• Identified safety responsibilities of units and positions
• Public information and education activities
• Identified skills, resources, and training needs to implement highway safety programs
• Evaluation of safety programs, projects and activities
Annual Road Safety Plan for a Highway Agency
To involve highway professionals in road safety matters, it is essential to make actions plans
in each highway department e.g. in MoSRT&H, NHAI, PWDs, State Road Transport –
Departments dealing with road safety problems etc. Further, these action plans are required to
be continuously monitored and evaluated and highway safety professionals need to be an
integral part of the same.

1.14
Trainers Road Safety Manual

It is recommended that each road authority produces an Annual Road Safety Plan in which
the local casualty reduction target is stated and a strategy for achieving the targets is
developed. The Plan should be a comprehensive document containing photographs, graphs
and figures and should be made available to the public. It should include:
• Background to the road accident situation in authority area (accident trends with respect
to road user groups, road features etc.)
• Aims of the Plan (casualty reduction targets)
• Summary of proposals planned (including major capital schemes, smaller remedial
measures engineering works, safety audit, maintenance, costs, relationships with other
agencies, safety publicity, traffic law enforcement).
• Methods for monitoring and evaluation.
• Report of previous year's work and effect on accidents.
It is most important to set a series of achievable causality reduction targets (short -and long-
term) that can be monitored and can help boost the morale of staff working in the safety
improvement team when treatments are shown to have a direct effect on accidents. It will of
course, be necessary to provide the increased resources that will inevitably be required.

Supporting Activities to Increase Highway Safety

• Inclusion of Road Safety in Curriculum for Highway Engineers

In order to tackle safety problems effectively via engineering, it is necessary to include road safety
in curriculum for highway engineers. At present, the highway engineers are not exposed to safety
conscious planning and execution. By incorporating these in their curriculum, it is possible to
avoid many problems simply by planning new roads in safety –conscious manner by incorporating
good design principles from the start. Also if the highway engineers are well-versed with safety
aspects, it will be possible for them to anticipate future problems and to improve existing roads by
the introduction of safety or environment-related measures. All future highway professionals need
to be well-versed with safety conscious planning, design, maintenance and operation of roads.
• Upgrading of Planning and Design Norms
As stated earlier, the highway professionals feel that by confirming merely to design norms they
can provide safe and efficient road networks. However, it is not always true. Under the review of
existing highway codes in connection with the project carried out for MoSRT&H in 1998 for
preparation of the ‘Manual for Safety in Road Design’, it was clearly brought out that almost 50%
of them were 20 years or more old. Another 25% documents were aged over 10 or more years. So
many of the publications need immediate review.
• Dissemination of Safety Literature Among Highway Professionals
There have been worthy efforts towards producing some world class road safety documents in
India by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Notable among those are ‘Manual for
Safety on Road Design- A Guide for Highway Engineers’ (1998), ‘Accident – Investigation and
Prevention’ (1997) and ‘Road Safety Audit Manual’ (2003). However, there have been hardly any
efforts to disseminate such literature among the highway professionals. Many of them are unaware
about the existence of the above mentioned publications.
• Training of the Highway Professionals for Road Safety
It is of utmost importance to train the highway professionals on road safety matters. It was
observed during the various training programmes for highway engineers conducted in India from
time to time that they had limited knowledge of the various road safety components to be
incorporated in the construction, maintenance and operation of highways. These training
programmes should be planned scientifically and be conducted continuously. There is a need also
to send highway safety professionals on study tour to developed part of the world so as to make
them fully aware of what is needed to tackle road safety problems. The training programmes need
to be developed specifically such that those are designed to raise the safety consciousness of
agency employees as to the safety implications of their decisions and actions. The periodic training
sessions on safety at all agency levels should be developed and conducted.

1.15
Introduction

1.8 Project Background

Attempts have been made in the past in India to improve the Road Safety situation including
the “Manual for Safety in Road Design – A Guide for Highway Engineers” about five
years back prepared by the MoSRT&H, but imperceptible dissemination of the Manual has
failed in its objective of increasing awareness about road safety and knowledge to make
suitable changes to enhance road safety in India.
The Government of India recognizes that more focused, better coordinated, and better-funded
strategies are required at national, state and city levels to address the problem more
effectively and to prevent a major public health disaster as road networks are expanding and
vehicle use escalating. The Government of India has received a grant from the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)/ International Development Association
(IDA) towards the cost of consultancy services for the Road Safety- Training for trainers for
dissemination of Road Safety Manual. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has
been entrusted to implement the project for Training of Trainers and Users. Intercontinental
Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd. (ICT), India in joint venture with SweRoad, Sweden
are consultants to carry out the consultancy services.
The objectives of the study are:
• To assess the training needs of
faculty in staff training institution
and staff of road agencies,
Consultants, Contractors in relation
to road safety during planning,
design and implementation of road
works, and their operation.
• To prepare a training programme
and associated effective learning
tools targeted at raising skill levels
of the personnel from relevant
organizations to act as trainers for
ensuring the incorporation of road
safety in the planning, design and
implementation of road works, and
also users of the Road Safety
Manual.
• To impart training to both trainers
and users.
• To evaluate the impact of the
training delivered and recommend
changes as necessary to improve
the future effectiveness of training
in this field.

Figure 1.8.1: Cover Page of Manual for Safety in Road

Design – A Guide for Highway Engineers”

1.16
Trainers Road Safety Manual

1.9 Using the Trainers Road Safety Manual

The Trainer’s Road Safety Manual has been developed as a number of free-standing chapters,
which are internally cross-referenced. The Trainer’s manual is based on “Manual for Safety
in Road Design - A Guide for Highway Engineer”, Accident Investigation and Prevention
Manual, guidelines and publications of MoSRT&H, IRC guidelines and specifications and
other additional material from Internet etc. The contents of the manual related to road safety
have been developed in such a manner as to be useful for highway/road development
programmes through its various stages of planning, design, construction and operation. The
contents besides defining the road safety situation in India and global comparisons in this
chapter includes the following chapter:
• Planning of Roads for Safety
• Designing for Safety: Road Link Design
• Designing for Road Safety: Junctions
• Road Safety Audit
• Safety Management of Road Networks Including Construction Sites
• Accident Investigation and Prevention
• Development of Countermeasures at Hazardous Locations
• Non-Engineering Measures for Road Safety
Each chapter comprises a short introductory overview, followed by the list of topics covered
in the chapter. Every topic is covered in a simplified manner with special reference to the
problems and safer practices, its IRC guidelines, additional points and illustrations and
examples. References are included at the end of each chapter for extra reading. Extra material
available is included in the Annexure.

Figure 1.9.1: Specimen Format of Manual

1.17
Introduction

References:

1 Geneva World Health Organization (2004). Road Safety is No Accident: A Brochure for World
Health Day
2 Ministry of Road Transport and Highways GOI, TRL, Ross Silcock, CRRI (1998). Manual for
Safety in Road Design - A Guide for Highway Engineers.
3 Mittal Nishi (1999) “Human Resource Development in Managing Traffic Congestion and Road
Safety”, Contributed to Seminar on Managing Traffic Congestion in Delhi, Organized by Delhi
Traffic Police, April.
4 Mittal Nishi and S.M. Sarin (1999). “Safety Issues in Managing Road Safety in Metropolitan Cities
of India”, Contributed to International Conference on Injury Prevention, March.
5 Mittal Nishi, R.K. Bajpai & S.M. Sarin (2001), “Need Based Road Safety Management For
Developing Countries”, Seminar on “Sustainable Development in Road Transport–organized by IRC
and PIARC, 8-10 Nov.
6 Mittal Nishi and S.M. Sarin (2001). “Cost Effective Road Safety Countermeasures for Metropolitan
Cities of India” by Indian Highways – Vol. 29, No.8, August.
7 Mittal Nishi and S.M. Sarin (2004) “Highway Safety: A Principal Responsibility Of Highway
Professionals and Planners” by Dr. Nishi Mittal and Dr. S.M. Sarin, Road Safety Digest, LPA,
Vol.14. No. 2, June.
8 Mohan Dinesh (2004). The Road Ahead – Traffic Injuries and fatalities in India, April.
9 Sarin S.M. & Nishi Mittal (1999). “Training the Trainers of Road Safety Education”, LPA, Road
Digest, Vol-9 No. 2.
10 Sarin S.M., Nishi Mittal & B.L. Suri (1996). “Traffic Safety In 23 Metropolitan Cities of India”,
LPA, Road Safety Digest Vol. 6, No. 4.
11 Sarin S.M and Nishi Miital (2000). “Road Traffic Safety, Environment & Human Rights” Road
Safety Digest, Vol. 10, No. 3.
12 TRL, Ross Silcock, ODA (1994). Towards Safer Roads in Developing Countries - A Guide for
Planners & Engineers

1.18