Making roads safer
Nitin Gadkari, who has been serving as the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways since 2014, has finally hit the nail on the head. He has blamed defective road design and faulty DPRs (detailed project reports) prepared by engineers and consultants for the ever-increasing road accidents and fatalities in the country. India has the second largest road network (after the US) in the world, but it continues to have the dubious distinction of recording the highest number of road mishap deaths globally year after year; the national toll was around 1.8 lakh in 2023 — a staggering average of 500 lives snuffed out every day.
Despite being a major cause of accidents, flawed road design rarely gets due attention of policymakers and other stakeholders. The general tendency is to blame reckless driving and poor law enforcement for mishaps. This virtually absolves the people involved in the planning and execution of road projects. It’s not uncommon to see even newly built roads develop cracks. Unfortunate motorists suffer due to the lapses made by engineers and other officials. Shoddy maintenance of roads only worsens the situation.
It is hoped that Gadkari’s tough talk will bring about a transformation on the ground. His observation that “even small things” like road signages and marking systems are very poor in India is ironically a reflection on his own long tenure. There is no doubt that accountability must be fixed for negligence that endangers lives, but at the same time, Central and state governments should also be answerable to the public for any laxity on their part. Last month, ministers from 100 countries met in Morocco and endorsed a declaration that calls on governments to make road safety a political priority. However, this issue of public interest is usually conspicuous by its absence from the agendas of political parties in India. The Punjab government’s Sadak Surakhya Force is a rare initiative to make highways safer. More such sustainable solutions are needed to turn the tide.
