[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

That's alright than, nothing to worry about or to improve?

Jeroen

Cam you improve on perfection?
Jokes apart I think some problems do not have a solution. Eg is p=np?

All I was clarifying what original poster was implying.

A lot of people believe that india has good road safety record due to lower per capita deaths inspite having cars with fewer safety features.

Not my opinion again. I don't think road safety will change much. Of course the nature of corruption, bribes and rto raj may change, but actual substantial change will be restricted to forums and social media.

[SmartCat]

There are no quick fixes because it needs huge amount of resources to reduce accident death rates. Better infrastructure, better policing on the roads etc are known solutions, but they cost money.



Source:

A guide for policy makers on reducing road fatalities (by PwC)
https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/publicatio...fatalities.pdf

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by Col Mehta

Couldn't agree more. From revisiting the entire system of issuing license to making sure heavy penalties are in place for such violators would bring in much needed checks to make our roads 'civilized'. Thanks!

Sir it would also be pertinent to mention that apart from restructuring the licensing procedure there is also a dire need to change the perspective of the masses regarding certain jobs in India. The job of driving trucks in India is not regarded as a respectable one due to various misconceptions, as such this important part of economy fails to attract the genuine and best of talent.

Truckers remain at the receiving end most of the time due to corrupt traffic and transport department officials. They work in most demanding conditions both physically and mentally at meager salaries. There is no time limit to the driving hours in a day as such most of the drivers end up driving up to 18 hours a day, resulting in increase in their reaction time due to fatigue leading to mishaps. Therefore the trucking job is largely seen as a last resort by the unemployed. Every year around 7-8 lac drivers are required in the Indian trucking industry but the supply is quite less as the youth shirk away from a job wherein there is neither social respect nor proper financial support.

Now if we shift the focus towards developed nations, we would find a wide contrast as far as trucking business is conducted. In countries like US and Canada, trucking is among the most respectable job with professional drivers earning as much as 30-35 US Dollars per hour. Moreover the driving hours are also strictly monitored so that the drivers can perform to the best of their capabilities. No matter then that in developed nations, the accident rate involving trucks is quite less.

To conclude its high time now that the government gives the transport sector its due and brings in changes in the system for the betterment of professional truckers which will ultimately go a long way in ensuring road safety in the country.

Regards.

[hybridpetrol]

Originally Posted by ssambyal1980

Now if we shift the focus towards developed nations, we would find a wide contrast as far as trucking business is conducted. In countries like US and Canada, trucking is among the most respectable job with professional drivers earning as much as 30-35 US Dollars per hour. Moreover the driving hours are also strictly monitored so that the drivers can perform to the best of their capabilities. No matter then that in developed nations, the accident rate involving trucks is quite less.

This will happen automatically as society changes. With everyone getting education, and striving for white collar job, there will be less and less people willing to take up such jobs at meager salaries.
Think about hotel industry for a minute - In the previous generation, almost everyone employed in the hotel industry were school dropouts or those who never went to school. But now, even a regular restaurant in cities employ Bachelor degree holders in Catering .
When there are nobody to do a particular job, there will be someone to offer that as a degree / vocational training, and there will be people to take those certificate holders with high pay!

On the other hand, I regularly see that the truck drivers in our country are pretty disciplined and seasoned in their driving (Unlike private bus drivers, who drive their buses like auto rickshaws). We need to realize that the trucks usually have load and hence have large braking distance due to momentum, have huge blind spots and drive our cars / two wheelers safely when near a truck.

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by hybridpetrol

This will happen automatically as society changes. With everyone getting education, and striving for white collar job, there will be less and less people willing to take up such jobs at meager salaries.
Think about hotel industry for a minute - In the previous generation, almost everyone employed in the hotel industry were school dropouts or those who never went to school. But now, even a regular restaurant in cities employ Bachelor degree holders in Catering .
When there are nobody to do a particular job, there will be someone to offer that as a degree / vocational training, and there will be people to take those certificate holders with high pay!

On the other hand, I regularly see that the truck drivers in our country are pretty disciplined and seasoned in their driving (Unlike private bus drivers, who drive their buses like auto rickshaws). We need to realize that the trucks usually have load and hence have large braking distance due to momentum, have huge blind spots and drive our cars / two wheelers safely when near a truck.

Absolutely couldn't agree more. The desired will obviously take time. When more and more qualified individuals line up for a job, it definitely changes the the perspective of the masses regarding the job.

You are absolutely right in pointing out that the private bus drivers drive quite rashly. This phenomenon is common throughout the country. In a bid to get more and more passengers and also in order to reach the destination in minimum possible time, the private bus chaps are always in a tearing hurry. In the process they endanger lives of innocent passengers as well as the other road users, especially the two wheeler riders who are in the maximum risk category.

Take the example of hill state of Himachal Pradesh where in most of the fatal mishaps where buses have veered off the road into the deep gorges involved private buses. Whereas the truckers drive pretty much discreetly as compared to their private bus counterparts. But nonetheless the truckers too have their limitations due the heavy load of the vehicle, poor road infrastructure etc. Therefore it becomes imperative for all the road users to drive in a calm and alert state of mind and be defensive at all times.

Regards

[vijit.gangwar]

My 2 cents on Dailydrivers post -

What can be done to prevent the death of pedestrians and two wheeler / bicycle riders due to accidents?
Pedestrians & cyclists are not supposed to exist on the same space along with cars or trucks, need to be segregated, which I guess is a herculean task and not going to happen in our lifetime.

How to ensure that trauma care is made available to victims within the golden hour?
WOW with our kind of infrastructure.

Can we design a mechanism wherein root cause analysis is done through systematic crash investigation and responsibilities fixed?
Are you serious?

Are we mature enough to implement a system of violation-based penalty, which could lead to cancellation of driving licence for life after reaching a certain threshold?
Once again are you serious???

In what ways could we train ourself to be better / safe drivers?
Will take atleast 2 generations if we focus on educating 100% of our children.

Is the death toll on our roads a direct by-product of our lenient and very often corrupt licensing practices?
What do you think?

Can we, who have made a mark on Mars, not lay some damn good roads and ensure disciplined driving there?
He he!!!

Would making jaywalking a punishable offence help?
What do you think?

How can we solve the ubiquitous bovine menace on our highways?
Let us not start any discussions on this issue.

I apologise for my blunt replies.

[luvDriving]

As I see it, there are various reasons for this statistic.

1. Driver mentality and training (but mostly mentality). Almost every driver on the road drives his/her vehicle like no one else should be driving at the same moment in time. Push here, rush there, brakes brakes braaaakes, Oops its the accelerator. Green signal green signal green signal - turning red ??? pedal to metal !

Driving responsibly is a rarity. What does driving responsibly mean ? Drive like you are responsible for the well-being of yourself, your passengers, your vehicle and also other road users, be they pedestrians or vehicles or animals. Anticipate dangers, specially on your daily rides which is very much possible to do. Give way to other vehicles and most important - pedestrians. Practice defensive driving.

None of the above is taught in driving schools. On my daily ride to and from office, I encounter many new drivers learning to drive in a motor school car. Mirrors closed, instructor has his mobile phone opened in one hand, other hand on the steering.

2. Speed (too fast / too slow). This I observe mostly related to 2 wheelers but some cars too drive like a fire engine rushing towards a fire. Weaving in and out of heavy traffic, alarming other drivers and generally racing from signal to signal. On the other end of the speed spectrum are the slow moving two wheelers driving in the middle of the road doing window shopping or the two wheeler rider scanning messages riding slowly in the fast lane next to the divider.

3. Last but not the least - Traffic police: These guys are as much guilty, if not more, as the common person for this statistic. Agreed that nowadays the overall respect for the police and in turn their hold on the public has gone down drastically. But then are they not responsible for the same ? Make an example of punishing people for the most minor of traffic offences and publicize such incidents.

Make sure that the general public knows the consequences of breaking the law - driving on the wrong side, driving on the footpath, running traffic lights, double parking, parking obstructing traffic - such and other incidents should be dealt with swiftly and rigidly.

This is something like - if users know that the towing van makes rounds at 3 pm, then the lane is clear of obstructions some minutes before and after 3pm. If citizens know that any violation will invite swift action from the law then it will prove to be an effective tool to control such incidences.

At any traffic signal, if the light turns red or even yellow, I halt the vehicle. Many times, rather most of the times it takes a second or five for other vehicles to follow suit. Even after that, there are some who move ahead with complete disregard to the traffic lights. Now if an example is made out of such few repeatedly enough, it will drill a sense of law in the remaining.

[simplyself]

Originally Posted by luvDriving

As I see it, there are various reasons for this statistic.

1. Driver mentality and training (but mostly mentality). Almost every driver on the road drives his/her vehicle like no one else should be driving at the same moment in time. Push here, rush there, brakes brakes braaaakes, Oops its the accelerator. Green signal green signal green signal - turning red ??? pedal to metal !.....

...repeatedly enough, it will drill a sense of law in the remaining.

I consider driving to be 90 % mind activity. If one can train the mind to observe, react, respect other users, vehicles and law, then the accident rate might come down drastically. Reflexes do play a large part in avoiding mishaps.

Apart

[ssambyal1980]

Delhi first among the Union Territories in road accidents and related deaths with Pondicherry being second and Chandigarh at third spot.

With an ever increasing number of vehicles on its already choked roads, along with lacs entering day in day out from the NCR region it may not sound surprising that the nation's capital Delhi stands first among the Union Territories when it comes to road accidents and related deaths. This has been pointed out in the recently tabled report on road accident statistics across the country for the year 2016 by Ministry of Roads and Surface Transport, Govt. of India.

Pondicherry and Chandigarh stand second and third respectively among the Union Territories in terms of road accidents and deaths in road accidents. While Delhi witnessed the maximum number of road accidents with a total of 7,375 mishaps leaving 1,591 people dead and 7,154 injured, Pondicherry witnessed 1,766 road accidents leading to 244 deaths and leaving 1,786 persons injured.

Chandigarh that holds the third spot witnessed 428 accidents leading to 151 deaths and leaving 329 injured. As per the report the UT of Lakshadweep witnessed only one road accident causing one death. The similarity among accidents in different cities has been that most of them have occurred due to over speeding, with red light jumping and drunken driving being the other main causes. Many hit and run cases were also reported especially during the night time.

Here is the UT wise road accident statistics for the year 2016:

[sparky@home]

A map depicting risk of road accidents the world over;

Source :
https://www.boredpanda.com/worlds-da...paign=thisawsm

[SmartCat]

Russia has a vodka problem. Iranians & Saudi Arabians apparently have a very poor driving sense (reckless speeding youngsters). But not sure why Africa is so bad

[sparky@home]

In the over all picture, India is so much better off, yet its bad, so i wonder how bad is the high risk countries.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Indeed. If the underlying statistics are reliable, I'm amazed that India doesn't get a worse rating. I thought it had one of the worst road deaths per capita ratings in the world?

Our roads are mad and crazy. Maybe we are, somehow, just a little better than some at handling mad and crazy driving?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Maybe we are, somehow, just a little better than some at handling mad and crazy driving?

Dubious Distinctions - We will have many in our kitty, including one that you just mentioned above. At times, we even take false pride in it claiming to be good and "defensive" drivers!

No wonder why when one drives in other countries which have much better traffic discipline, most from here would find it way too difficult to adapt soon to this change and same is the case when you return back after a long stint

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

No wonder why when one drives in other countries which have much better traffic discipline, most from here would find it way too difficult to adapt soon to this change and same is the case when you return back after a long stint

As you may recall, UK is my mother country. I lived in London for thirty years. Last time I visited (July '15) I had planned to do some hire-car driving, but I chickened out of driving there. The order and predictability is scary when you're not used to it, and I did not trust myself not to absent-mindedly do something awful!