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Indian highways are virtual death traps

Swapna Khanna in New Delhi

"I always preferred travelling by road till last December, when I met with an accident on the Delhi-Jaipur highway. A truck coming in the opposite direction, trying to overtake another vehicle, smashed into my car. After that I swore never to travel by road again," says Rajesh Agarwal, a Delhi-based businessman.

Stories like this abound. With one of the worst safety records in the world, Indian highways are virtual death traps. A P Bahadur, General Manager, National Highways Authority of India, says, "The road accidents scenario in the country has been a matter of concern. Despite a lower percentage of vehicle ownership compared to the developed countries, India has a very high accident rate."

In 1994, there were 530 fatal accidents on the highways, and according to NHAI officials, an equal number go unreported. Around 60,600 lives were lost and 2,88,600 persons injured in 2,86,000 accidents on Indian roads in 1993."

Between 1973-93, the number of accidents have gone up by 234 per cent while the number of fatalities and those injured increased by 344 and 3644 per cent, respectively. Of the total number of accidents in India, about 25 per cent are on the national highways.

Lack of proper lighting on the roads, absence of road-dividers, rash driving and overtaking, the mix of vehicles, are some of the factors which cause accidents. However, human error is responsible for about 90 per cent of them, says Bahadur. The maximum risk is at dusk and dawn.

The most accident-prone area is the route between Jaipur and Katputli, where the fatality rate is 140 per annum. Second comes Quilon-Kanyakumari, at 125 fatalities per annum, according to the 1994 census.

Comparison with developed countries reveals that although the number of accidents in India in absolute terms may not be very high, the fatality rate in comparison to the number of accidents is too high. For example, one person gets killed in every five accidents, whereas in developed countries, a fatality results only in about 50 accidents.

"We don't have safety barriers on our highways. It costs almost 30 lakhs per kilometre, which only the developed countries can afford to spend, and which they do," says Bahadur.

The NHAI has tried to improve things. For a start, it plans to have Emergency Boxes - containing a telephone, first aid and manned by an attendant - every two kilometres on the Jaipur-Katputli section. It has also pressed mobile patrol vans, ambulances and cranes into service.

"Other schemes are on the way. Things will improve, but gradually," Bahadur adds. Until then, highway-users will just have to push their luck and hope for the best.

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