New Zealand model could be a guide for India – Dave Cliff, CEO, and Global Road Safety
T N ASHOK /New Delhi
Most road fatalities across the world occur due to non compliance of safety procedures and it’s the responsibility of police and transport authorities to ensure motorists follow the rules to the book, says Dave Cliff, a top police officer from New Zealand and CEO of Global Road Safety Partnership.
Cliff, who has led criminal investigation and road policing positions throughout New Zealand, said road accidents and fatalities often occurred over weekends globally due to drink driving, not wearing seat belts and using mobile phones while driving. For two wheeler drivers not wearing helmets was often the cause of death.
Strict vigilance had to be enforced over drunken revelry over weekends especially among youngsters and motorists followed the rules by physical monitoring , identifying potential accident sites and policing them, and through mass education and awareness campaigns, he told newsmen . He is in India in connection with the India Economic Forum and is meeting transport authorities and transport minister Nitin Gadkari to explore how his NGO can promote road safety awareness in India through its counterparts.
More than 400 people die in road accidents in India every day. More shocking is the statistics that India accounts for 12% of road accidents and fatalities across the world while accounting for only 2% of the vehicular population in the world. As per official statistics (2015), 4, 80, 652 accidents occurred taking a toll of 1, 50,785 lives and leaving 4, 94,624 with serious injuries.
Of this mostly victims were men totaling 1, 27,453 as against 23,332 women. Most accidents and fatalities occurred over weekends and between 2 am and 4 am on national highways due to over speeding by motorists. The average speed of a motorist meeting with an accident was between 120 to 160 kmph. (In New Zealand, accidents occurred due to drink driving between midnight and two am when motorists were returning home from clubs and parties, Cliff said adding transport authorities had mapped potential accident sites and policed them well with high visibility policemen.
Disclosing these statistics, Ashim Sanyal, Chief Operating Officer and Secretary of the NGO, Consumer VOICE, focusing on road safety, said he had submitted memorandum to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that the new Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill of 2017 passed by the Lok Sabha last year be passed quickly by the Rajya Sabha in the upcoming winter session this year.
The new MV Bill provides for stringent punishment for offences on road violating safety regulations from unlicensed to drunken drivers with penalties ranging from rs 10,000 to rs 30,000 on the spot, cancellation of the license and impounding of vehicles of the motorists among other things.
Sanyal said only a strong and comprehensive law could prevent road accidents and save precious lives on the road. It was necessary to observe Road Safety Week in all states every month instead of once a year. Speedy justice to road accident victims was another must.
Due to delay in justice to victims who suffer from road accidents there was always a mental and financial pressure on them.
He wanted the government to launch a national movement for roads such as “Surakshit Sarak Mission (Road Safety ) on the lines of the Swachh Bharat mission . The movement should aim at Zero fatalities on Indians.
Sanyal said there was an urgent need to set up a dedicated fund for road accident victims which could bring instant relief to victims especially to vulnerable road users which included school children. The NGO consumer VOICE is active in states such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengla, Uttar pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Punjab and Assam.