Help road accident victims without fear of police harassment or legal complications.
A 5% reduction in average vehicle speed can reduce deaths by 30%
Wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of a fatal injury by upto 50% for front seat occupants and upto 75% for rear seat occupants
Drivers using a phone are FOUR times more likely to be involved in a crash.
Wearing a motorcycle helmet correctly can reduce the risk of death by 40% and the risk of severe injury by 70%
A report from MoRTH on the status of road accidents in India in 2015.
Proposed amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act which aim to strengthen road safety.
In a crowded country like India, where our senses are constantly assaulted by noises, colours and sights, its streets filled with jostling crowds and impatient vehicles competing for space and struggling to get past, it is no surprise that we have learnt to ignore anything extraneous to our own thoughts, needs and plans for the day.
In a pragmatic society like ours, we accept with little argument that death is inevitable. We all have to die and die of something. We see death and decay all too frequently, maybe chronically numbing our senses, destroying our empathy.
Search ‘Indian traffic’ or ‘India driving’ on the Internet and what you find is a load of articles, memes, and videos on the madness that is driving in India. While these are amusing to read or watch, they underscore how dangerous Indian roads. On average 17 people die every hour on India’s roads. Most of these deaths (not to mention serious injuries) are the drivers’ fault, says Government of India data (Road Accidents in India 2015). As road users in India, we tend to shrug off the bad driving, thinking that is just the way it is.
In the previous post on how the media (Tamil and English) covers road accidents, we looked at the kind of details provided, and sensationalism in the articles. This post, based on 104 of the 181 Tamil and English media reports that were published between January and April 2016, analyses reportage on the causes of accidents, geography (rural vs urban), and road user behaviour.
Causes of accidents