Page 56 - Technology Roadmap Transportation

TECHNOLOGY VISION 2035

used in assessing road safety interventions are dividers between opposite-direction traffic
fatalities and Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) to reduce likelihood of head-on collisions, (4)
rates, usually per billion (10 ) passenger km. Removing roadside obstacles, (5) Prohibition
9
Vehicle speed within the human tolerances for of more vulnerable road users and slower
serious injury and death is a key goal of modern vehicles, (6) Placements of energy attenuation
road design because impact speed affects the devices (e.g. guard rails, wide grassy areas, sand
severity of the injury to both, the occupants barrels), and (7) eliminating road toll booths.
and the pedestrians. For occupants, probability In addition, focus is being given on improving
of death of drivers in multi-vehicle accidents safety measures for vehicles, driver training,
increases as the fourth power of the impact development of intelligent roads and vehicles
speed. Injuries are also caused by sudden, and strict law enforcement.
severe acceleration (or deceleration), but these
are difficult to measure. Crash reconstruction 3.4 TRANSPORT SAFETY SCENARIO IN
techniques can be used to estimate vehicle INDIA
speeds before a crash. Figure 3.4 shows the A noticeable expansion in vehicular transport
current global safety trends as number of in the country, particularly in goods vehicles
fatalities per lakh population and number of was observed in between 1940’s and 1960’s.
fatalities per lakh vehicle respectively. According The number of goods vehicles in undivided
to this report, India has maximum number of India (excluding princely states) increased from
fatalities per lakh vehicle (211.8) however third 12,397 in 1938-39 to about 160,000 in 1960-
highest in fatalities per lakh population (19.9). 61. This growth generates the need of effective
traffic planning to control and regulate these
3.3 FUTURE SAFETY TRENDS IN GLOBAL vehicles plying across the length and width
ROAD TRANSPORT of the country. In 1960’s, according to the
Developed countries have adopted an calculations presented in the Preliminary Report
ambitious Road Safety Program, which aims to of the Committee on Transport Policy and
cut road deaths severely by 2020. EU has set a Coordination, the increase in freight traffic by
target of less than 20000 road fatalities by 2020 road was expected roughly to be of the order
(Figure 3.5). of 120% over five years, i.e. from 10,600 million
ton miles in 1960-61 to 23,350 million ton miles
The EU program sets out a mix of initiatives, in 1965-66. At the end of 1968, a tremendous
at pan-European and national level, focusing variation was found in vehicular traffic in both
on improving vehicle safety, the safety of sectors, i.e. freight and passenger transport. The
infrastructure and road users’ behavior. passenger traffic increased from 98,000 million
Initiatives proposed in the “European Road passenger km in 1968-69 to ~140,000 million
Safety Policy Orientations” range from setting passenger km in 1973-74. In order to cater for
higher standards for vehicle safety, to improving the estimated increase in traffic, the number of
the training of road users, and increasing trucks on the roads increased from ~300,000
the enforcement of road rules. Some of the in 1968-69 to ~470,000 at the end of 1973-74.
safety features used are: (1) Limited access The number of buses increased from 85,000
from properties and local roads to highways, to 115,000 during the same period. The
(2) Grade separated junctions, (3) Median production of commercial vehicles increased
from 35,000 in 1968-69 to 85,000 in the
FIG 3.5 FUTURE ROAD SAFETY TRENDS IN EU, last year of the 4 FYP. This statistics shows
th
BLUE LINE SHOWS EUROPE TARGET[4]
that there was a continuous growth in the
35,000
31,500 30,700 28,100 number of vehicle and their demand in
30,000 26,200 India historically.
25,000 Today, total number of vehicles has crossed
25,700 120 million in India. Since the beginning,

20,000 24,000 22,400 20,900 it was very difficult to handle such large
number of vehicles on the roads and they
15,000 19,500 18,200 17,000 15,750 have always created traffic congestion and

10,000 large number of road accidents in India.
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

54 ROADWAYS