1. Traffic As Indian Phenomenon
Compared to other countries India has a very versatile traffic control system. The road rules are
different when compared to the other roads. If at an Indian drives abroad, he is more likely to
cause accidents because the road rules entirely new and might be difficult to follow. India as a
whole has very less traffic record when compared to other countries because, most of the roads are
still under construction and that the roadways are on the front of development. This gives us the
chances of developing the traffic system and making proper roadway transportation in the future.
Though there have been records of frequent accidents and road troubles, the amount of
occurrence are much less than the other countries.
The Indian road rules have evolved over the past few decades and have made a massive
improvement in the roadway transportation. Thanks to the Indian road government that has taken
the necessary steps to develop the Indian roadway transportation. The national highways rolling
from the Jammu in the North to Kanyakumari in the South has been well laid and has made a
steady progress in the aspect of tourism. But lately because of the frequent change in the
government, the maintenance for the National highway has reduced and has made a setback.
Though the roads have lacked attention, it has never made a decrease in the visits by the foreign.
Constant notices and petitions have been set across for the maintenance of the Indian NH roads
but to the very little attention of the authorities.
The roads that are in and around the central states have been well laid and maintained but moving
further to the south, you can find the rugged roads are still under construction and ill maintained.
It’s not just with the roads, it is also with the historic buildings. But coming to the roads, it has been
less noticed by the public departments. It is muddy in the summer and it is watery in the rain, of
course the causes for all the damage are the people who use it but the road department also has
duty to maintain the ill roads. The traffic signals and the traffic constables have had a major role in
traffic control system in India but only to some extent. Traffic violation and rules breaking has
been the hobby not only for the youngsters but for the government employees as well.

2. Some speeding gangsters have the passion for racing and speed around in the local roads causing
trouble to the public traffic. They move around in the city breaking the speed limits creating havoc
in the local roads. Some local motorists, who see these speeding devils, try to race them and end
up in an accident. Most of the accidents in the local roads are recorded on the account of racing
and speeding before the signal goes red. There has been occurrence of regular accidents that were
recorded once when the motorists had the speed bikes in the roads. The governments then set the
rules to roll the motors that have a minimum horse power (the capacity of the machine to pull) in
the local roads. A great amount of traffic hindrance was reduced and a better traffic system was
made in the recent past.
The Road maintenance has been upgraded and has resulted positive in the case of traffic system.
The notices and the petitions have made less effect and has brought the roads to a bad shape.
These road maintenance troubles can be well handled by the private sectors but there is also the
threat that there might be a lot of corruption that will arise in the case of maintenance. The local
traffic police and the police have made the case more worse on corruption and bribery. Few cases
of harassments and false accusations have occurred during the past but still the necessary measures
over the road and the transportation have not been look on. If all the citizens can be more
responsible in knowing that the roads are laid for them and that they need to maintain it, there
would be no need for a road construction department.
India's huge landscape dotted with rugged mountains and a mesh of various water bodies does
seem gigantic to traverse. The situation becomes particularly grave when the most reliable transport
network? The roadways? Poses a great danger to the lives of the travelers. Road safety in India has
always been an issue since independence of the country. And sadly, the traffic authorities in India
have always reacted to the situations instead of acting proactively to the emerging conditions.
The Indian road traffic is as diverse as it can get. From slow moving rickshaws and bicycles to fast
zipping bikes, from the noisy three-wheeler auto to the snazzy cars, from MUVs to heavy trucks,
the road rage in India is contributed by all. Despite having elaborate and precise laws for every
vehicle and road behavior, the traffic safety in India remains as elusive as ever.

3. While the traffic in the interiors of the country is not as heavy as that in the big cities. But the
quality of roads in small towns and villages is nothing to write home about. The corrupt authorities
have, over the years, ensured that development remain a dream in rural India.
Big cities have their own problems. Delhi traffic has largely benefited from the friendly government
policies. The introduction of Metro rail and the CNG buses in the capital city has made life a lot
easier for the motorists. And the latest sealing drive against unauthorized establishments is also
bound to have a positive impact on Delhi traffic. Mumbai traffic, though known as the most
organized one of all the big cities, still has to witness a revolution that would one day make the
travel a lot faster in the city. Bangalore traffic and Chennai traffic don't have any different story to
tell.
Go to any part of India, traffic safety is a far cry that remains to be addressed on a priority basis.
There is no doubt in the fact that our lives are getting very fast these days. Everyone is running to
achieve more in life and in order to do so they are least bothered about who or what comes in
their way. This phenomenon is very prevalent on Indian Road Traffic. I am pointing towards lack
of road safety in India no matter if its Delhi traffic in the north; Bangalore traffic and Chennai
traffic in the south or Bombay traffic for that matter. In each city vehicles are in abundance that
there are not sufficient roads to cater to the growing demands of rapidly increasing road traffic.
If we analyze the Traffic situation in Delhi, the Indian Capital, one would be able to realize the
worst kind of perils that one may have to face while driving on Indian roads. Even after not so
frequent establishment of new flyovers to reduce the congestion of traffic, Delhi roads, still seems
too narrower to facilitate smooth flow of diverse types of vehicles which includes trucks, dangerous
blue line buses, cars, scooters, high-acceleration bikes and last but not the least bicycles and cycle
rickshaws.
Most of these vehicles have different speeds and most of the time these speed variation lead to
inevitable accidents that worsens the Traffic safety in India. One can imagine the situation on roads

4. with high pick-up motor bikes and slowly driven cycles sharing the same lanes. For instance, when
a bicycle rider has to make a U-turn he is suppose to change his lane from left to right and while
doing so the poor rider is in great danger of getting crushed by other heavy vehicles commuting on
the same road. The hasty motor riders care about neither cycle riders nor the pedestrians who are
trying to cross the road.
And the Traffic authorities in India are making least efforts to overcome these traffic problems to
prevent numerous deaths that take place on Indian roads so often. A separate lane can be allotted
to slow moving vehicles to provide them much needed safety while reaching their destinations.
This idea has been successfully implemented in some foreign countries and India should learn
from their example. But the popular phenomenon of road rage in India involving abusive
exchanges between the two or more traffic users will still continue on India roads until and unless
people will begin to respect other commuters and be patient while driving.
NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY SCENARIO:
The 58.8 million registered vehicles using the Indian roads have taken a heavy toll on human life.
Between1970 and 2002, the total number of registered vehicles in India has increased 31 times.
However, the road length in the same period has increased by only 2.71 times. India has only
about 1% of the world's vehicles but accounts for as much as 8% of the world's accidents.
These crashes have a major impact on the country's economy. A Working Group set up by the
Planning Commission in the year 2000 to look into road accidents, injury prevention and control
had gone into the issue of social cost of accidents in India and had estimated the cost at Rs.55,000
crores in the years 1999-2000, which constituted 3% of the GDP for the year.
Causes of Accidents
An analysis carried out on the accident data for the year 2003 shows that the main causes of road
accident in our country are: drivers’ fault (77.91%),
pedestrian fault/fault of passengers (1.36%), mechanical defect in vehicles

5. (2.01), bad roads (1.32%) and other factors like bad weather, cattle coming in the way, fallen trees,
road blockage, absence of rear reflectors, road signals, non-functioning of road signals etc.
(17.40%) – ‘ROAD SAFETY IN INDIA’ by S.K. Mishra, Director (Road Transport), MORTH,
Govt. of India.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB); ‘83,209 males and 15,045 females
totaling 98,254 were killed during the year 2005, while traveling by various modes of transport on
roads. 22,584 persons (23.0%) of these were occupants of ‘Truck or Lorry’, 16,109 (16.4%) were
riding on ‘Two wheelers’, 12,241 (12.5%) were killed while traveling in buses and 8,762 (8.9%)
were pedestrians’. ‘Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have
accounted for 19.3 per cent and 11.9 per cent respectively of total ‘Road Accident’ cases in the
country. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have reported 14.2 per cent and 11.1 per cent
respectively of total Road Accident Deaths in the country’. – 2006 Annual Report by NCRB.