Varsha, Researcher

Tamil Nadu was the first state to bring in a Road Safety Policy as a part of its road safety management system. However, the status of the existing Road Safety Policy calls for an immediate review to ensure that the policy reflects prevailing road safety issues and identifies existing policy constraints. This report furnishes a set of recommendations for the state through a qualitative comparison of Road Safety Policies of other states in India.

More than 50% of vehicle drivers in Thiruvarur district were found not adhering to the helmet and seatbelt laws, says a compliance audit conducted by CAG recently. With Tamil Nadu topping the charts for the highest number of annual road crashes consecutively for the fifth year in 2020, it is important to lookback, learn and redefine our road safety management practices. This study also recommends next steps for proactive enforcement and road safety management in districts of Tamil Nadu.