Multi-Stakeholder Workshop on Road Safety Action Plan for Tamil Nadu
Date: 25.03.2025
Venue: Chennai
Speakers: Mr. Shunchonngam Jatak Chiru, IAS, Transport Commissioner (Tamil Nadu)
Ms. Nidhi Singh, Additional Commissioner (Road Safety) (Rajasthan)
Mr. Krishnan Srinivasan, Senior Transport Consultant, The World Bank
Ms. Rutvija Dani, Regional Enforcement Officer, Gujarat Road Safety Authority,
Mr. Atul Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Centre of Excellence for Road Safety, IIT Madras
India has seen a consistent rise in road crash fatalities, driven by expanding road networks and faster vehicles, with Tamil Nadu recording the highest number of road accidents in India for five consecutive years (2018-2022). In 2023 alone, Tamil Nadu recorded 18,347 road fatalities, with Chennai alone accounting for 504 of these deaths. While the state was an early adopter of a Road Safety Policy in 2007, an updated and structured State Road Safety Action Plan is critical to achieving the national goal of reducing road accident deaths by 50% by 2030.
To highlight the need for a robust action plan to address the tragedy of lives lost on our roads, CAG hosted a multi-stakeholder workshop to discuss the development and enforcement of a comprehensive State Road Safety Action Plan (RSAP) for Tamil Nadu.
The event commenced with Ms. Saroja, Executive Director, CAG, describing the agenda for the day. She outlined CAG’s key focus areas in road safety and highlighted various key initiatives undertaken in recent years. Following this, she provided a brief overview of the current state of road safety in Tamil Nadu.
The inaugural speech was given by Mr. Shunchonngam Jatak Chiru, IAS (Transport Commissioner), who in his speech highlighted the gap between policy and implementation. He urged all stakeholders present at the workshop to devise solutions to reduce these gaps. He pointed out that the government was keen on ensuring road safety, with some positive effects over the last two months. In addition, he said that the government was in the process of establishing a Road Safety Authority for the state and will be coming out with a robust Road Safety Action Plan for the state in the near future, once the updated Road Safety Policy was notified.
Mr. Shunchonngam Jatak Chiru, IAS (Transport Commissioner) giving his inaugural speech
Ms. Nidhi Singh, the Additional Commissioner for Road Safety at the Department of Transport and Road Safety in Rajasthan, spoke on Rajasthan’s Road Safety Action Plan, and delivered a comprehensive presentation outlining a step-by-step process used by the state. She emphasized the significance of having a strategy when initiating a State Road Safety Action Plan. Additionally, she stressed the necessity of establishing an authority or committee responsible for overseeing the development of the action plan, while ensuring that implementation responsibilities are clearly defined and shared among all relevant government agencies. To complement Ms. Nidhi Singh’s presentation, Dr. Pandey, Chief Medical Officer (Road Safety - Rajasthan), spoke about the importance of medical response times in lowering fatalities. He also suggested implementing TRIAGE protocols and increasing the number of trauma centres.
Ms. Nidhi Singh presenting about Rajasthan’s Road Safety Action Plan.
Mr. Krishnan Srinivasan, Senior Transport Consultant at The World Bank, presented about developing a multi-sectoral road safety action plan sharing case studies from Chennai and Assam. He emphasized the need for a robust institutional framework and a safe systems approach. He also highlighted the importance of data driven decision-making, setting achievable targets, and systematically assessing road networks to identify risks.
Mr. Krishnan Srinivasan, Senior Transport Consultant from The World Bank presenting about developing a multi-sectoral road safety action plan.
Ms. Rutvija Dani from the Gujarat Road Safety Authority briefed us about the progress in road safety in Gujarat over the past few years. She talked about engineering initiatives such as blackspot rectification (145+ sites) and crash barrier deployment (500+ locations) and how these have strengthened road safety. She also focused on a structured three-step consultative process involving multiple stakeholders that is being used to finalise the Road Safety Action Plan Vision 2030, focusing on expanding e-enforcement, improving data accuracy, and ensuring policy accountability.
Ms. Rutvija Dani from the Gujarat Road Safety Authority presenting about the progress in road safety in Gujarat.
The final speaker of the event was Mr. Atul Singh from IIT Madras, who discussed the role of data in road safety planning. He emphasized that data-driven interventions were crucial for implementing effective road safety strategies. Additionally, he shared insights about the IIT Madras’ CoERS Think Tank, focusing on the use of predictive analytics for enhancing road safety. Mr. Atul Singh also showed a demo of the visual dashboard (Sanjaya) created by IIT Madras, which displays accident data from various sources, including e-DAR. This tool is set to be launched in 100 districts across the country with the highest accident rates.
Mr. Atul Singh from IIT Madras presenting about the role of data in road safety planning
The workshop concluded with a vote of thanks by Mr. George Cheriyan, Consultant-CAG, emphasizing the need for continued collaboration between stakeholders to achieve safer roads.
Overall, the event received positive feedback from all speakers, officials from the Highways Department, Police Department, National Health Mission, Transport Department and The World Bank, representatives from the GHAI, GRSP, ASAR, CEE, CUTS, and other civil society groups from Tamil Nadu, and various other stakeholders. The event underscored the significance of policy intervention, especially for issues as complex as road safety.