150,000 Road Fatalities: What Needs to Be Done?

The 9th India Construction Festival (ICF), hosted by FIRST Construction Council in partnership with CW, brought together top industry heads in Delhi. Panel discussions during the event were a key highlight and from this month onwards, CW will feature one panel discussion in every edition.    

Let’s put the first panel discussion, ‘Shaping Regulations for Safe and Sustainable Roads’, in perspective. In 2021, India witnessed over 150,000 road accident-related deaths, earning it the unfortunate distinction of having the highest road traffic mortality rate in the world. The statistics are startling: A traffic accident occurs every 76 seconds in India, leading to the tragic loss of over 17 lives every hour. Approximately 10 per cent of global traffic accidents occur within India's borders. Further, up to 84 per cent of these accidents involve individuals in the working-age group between the ages of 18 and 60, which shatters families and hampers economic productivity.Beyond the immediate concerns of safety, the concept of integrating sustainability into various projects, including road construction and infrastructure development is relatively new and hasn't garnered the attention it deserves, making it imperative to seek ways to build sustainable and safe road infrastructure in India.