Speed thrills but kills; Tamil Nadu records highest number of road accidents, and is second in the country in road accident deaths
Tamil Nadu, which recorded the highest number of road accidents in India and the second-highest fatalities in 2022, faces a critical need for targeted interventions to tackle speeding.
Of the 57,321 accidents in the state, 15,653 fatalities were linked to speeding—a factor contributing to over 70% of road deaths nationwide. These alarming figures highlight the urgent need to address speeding as a pressing issue on our roads.
To address this problem, a civil society body, Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG), began leveraging its extensive experience in road safety, and held consultations with key stakeholders, on ‘Developing Speed Management Guidelines for Enhanced Road Safety in Tamil Nadu’ on Friday.
The CAG is a 39-year-old non-profit and non-political organization working on citizen rights and good governance.
Emphasizing the need to address speeding on our roads, Dr Bhargab Maitra, professor at IIT Kharagpur said that speed was ‘the single low-hanging fruit that will help us reduce the fatalities’. This consultation explored best practices and lessons from West Bengal. Notably, West Bengal recently adopted India’s first scientifically developed Speed Management Policy, created in collaboration with IIT Kharagpur and global road safety experts.
The policy embraces a Safe System Approach, offering a comprehensive framework to assess road traffic risk factors and interventions holistically. This approach acknowledges that human errors leading to road crashes are inevitable; however, the system must be designed to mitigate these errors, ensuring that crashes do not result in fatalities or severe injuries.
Speakers at the event also highlighted the need for reliably gathered data with both Mr.Ravishankar Rajaraman, road safety expert from CUMTA and Professor Dr. Gitakrishnan Ramadurai, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras emphasizing that data from road crashes, providing information on the specific location where the crash occurred, and the conditions of the location can make remedial action more effective. Dr. Tango Elangovan, former Executive Director of Kerala Road Safety Authority also talked about the need for strong enforcement, adding that alternate forms of punishment such as community service can be considered, in addition to penalties.
This event brought together government officials, road safety experts, and key stakeholders to discuss policy frameworks and technical interventions.
