New Delhi, June 12 (IANS) Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, Ajay Tamta, on Thursday, stressed the urgent need to reduce road crash deaths in India.

Speaking at the ‘Dialogue to Action: National Summit on Vulnerable Road Users and Road Safety’ here, he said, “The issue of road safety is very important, and we should work on ideas to reduce road fatalities.”

“The focus should be on working towards zero road fatalities,” the Union Minister added.

UN Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jen Todt, called road crashes a ‘silent pandemic’ and highlighted that more than 1.2 million people die globally in road accidents every year.

In India alone, more than 1.54 lakh people died in 2021 due to road crashes.

“Most of the people who die are young, daily commuters, and family breadwinners. India needs more than dialogue. It needs action. And it needs it now,” he said.

Amit Bhardwaj, Deputy Adviser at NITI Aayog, said that while India’s national highways and two-wheelers have doubled in the last decade, infrastructure for safety has not kept pace.

He suggested strict enforcement methods such as refusing fuel to riders not wearing helmets.

He also said that poor bike design might be one reason many riders avoid wearing helmets.

Bureau of Indian Standards Director, Mitra Sen Verma, said his department is ready to work with NGOs to take action against fake helmet makers and also promote road safety awareness in schools.

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Consultant, Maharaj Singh, added that while the Centre can frame laws, state governments must take strong enforcement steps.

He stressed the need for collaborative ideas and better implementation.

Steelbird Hi-Tech’s Managing Director Rajeev Kapur raised concern about the alarming number of fake helmets in the Indian market.

“Around 95 per cent of licensed manufacturers are producing fake helmets. India needs 13 crore standard helmets, but only three crore are made by the organised sector,” he said, also proposing an investment plan worth Rs 6,000 crore to fix the issue and create jobs.

Manoranjan Parida, Director of CSIR-CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, said India had committed to reducing road crashes by 50 per cent by 2030, but the current trend is worrying.

He proposed creating separate lanes for two-wheelers, like in Vietnam and Malaysia, and urged Bollywood and the media to promote road safety.

B. Mohammed Asheel from the World Health Organisation praised India’s laws on paper but noted a gap in real-world implementation.

He said that road crash deaths are now double those caused by infectious diseases and called for a public movement similar to what was seen during Covid-19.

TRAX President Anurag Kulshrestha highlighted that more than 65 per cent of road deaths involve vulnerable road users like bikers and pedestrians.

He noted that most of these deaths are preventable and blamed substandard helmets and poor enforcement as major concerns.

–IANS

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