Road Crashes Biggest Killer Of Kids & Youth Aged 5-19. Unicef Experts Lay Out ‘Simple’ Path To Safer Indian Roads 

The UN and WHO have drawn up The Global Plan for the Decade of Action (2021-2030), which outlines recommended actions for preventing road trauma. Representational image.

Source : PTI

Consider these statistics — 400 lives are lost every day on India’s roads, most on the spot. Half of these deaths are those of children and adolescents. In fact, road crashes are the leading killers in the 5-19 age group in India. Most motorcycle fatalities occur due to head injuries, and simply using a quality helmet can reduce the risk of death by 70%. To add to the grim numbers, speeding is responsible for 72% of deaths in road accidents. Much in line with the traffic police’s grim warning — ‘Speed thrills, but kills’. 

It is this ‘devil-may-care’ attitude of the average driver that makes India top the global road fatalities charts. And the worst part is that we don’t seem to be slowing down despite evidence of a rising death toll on Indian roads. 

As the figures emphasise the urgent need to address this issue, the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have drawn up The Global Plan for the Decade of Action (2021-2030), which outlines recommended actions — drawn from proven and effective interventions as well as best practices — for preventing road trauma. 

The plan, which targets reducing road traffic injuries and deaths by at least 50% by 2030, was presented at a two-day national media workshop on road safety, organised by Unicef in association with the International Automobile Centre of Excellence (iACE), at the latter’s base in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The conference featured road accident experts, who have been working on safety for decades, health and rehabilitation specialists, civil society members, as well as over 30 media professionals from print, online, and radio — with an intention to expand the capacity of journalists to promote road safety, especially for children and adolescents, and to foster collaboration among experts, government officials, and media professionals to advocate the same.

In India, there are 15 departments that relate to road safety, and this itself presents a nightmare for anyone working in this arena — to get hold of different officials and get them to agree on a coordinated, purposeful plan to overcome the challenge of accidents. 

Simple Solutions

A growing number of vehicles on the roads is a positive indicator for a country’s economy. But, along with the growth in vehicle population, needs plans to improve safety on roads, which at the present seems to be either missing or ineffective or both. 

In August 2020, the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution, ‘Improving global road safety’, proclaiming 2021-2030 the ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’, with the ambitious target of preventing at least 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.

The experts at the Unicef event noted that road accidents in India are growing at a rate of 10% per annum. They cited a shocking World Bank report that said road crashes claim the lives of over 42 children and 31 adolescents every day in India. Many of these incidents occur near schools and colleges, making it crucial to raise awareness and address the root causes of road safety violations.

“The developed West has tackled road accident deaths very well and minimised them, unlike here in India,” says G. Gururaj, a former director at NIMHANS, Bangalore, who has been working on road safety for over three decades. 

Unicef India health specialist Dr Syed Ali Hubbe underscored the urgency of addressing road safety from a child rights perspective: “India accounts for 1% of the world's vehicles but 11% of all road accident deaths and 6% of total road crashes, according to a World Bank 2021 report. Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable, with over-speeding near schools being a major risk factor.” 

The experts said most of these deaths were highly preventable, especially since humanity is now equipped with ample evidence and science to make a viable intervention.

They said most of these deaths can be prevented with simple safety measures and improving driving etiquette. The key is collective responsibility and a multi-departmental safe-systems approach.

“Through media, we can promote awareness to reduce the number of injuries and deaths through critical safety measures like helmet use, speed limits, and seatbelt usage,” Hubbe added. 

These look like simple solutions, but they are effective, said Gururaj, echoing the sentiments of other experts, like Dr Narayan Gaonkar, a health expert at Unicef Gujarat. 

Dr Sridhar Ryavanki, a Unicef health specialist from Hyderabad, Telangana, said simple interventions in an area on the outskirts of Hyderabad — known as ‘Killer Road’ that was claiming 70 lives a year — had reduced the number of deaths to zero this year. “This model is not just replicable elsewhere but is also scalable,” he said at the workshop.

Need Collective Action

Unicef India communications officer Sonia Sarkar said, “It’s a sobering fact that road traffic accidents are a leading cause of death among children and adolescents. Yet, as we explored during the workshop, the solutions to prevent these tragedies are well within our reach. 

“With the right blend of awareness, enforcement, and community commitment, we can make a meaningful difference. The slogan ‘Speed thrills but kills’ serves as a reminder that over speeding remains a critical factor in road accidents worldwide, especially so, in India, where traffic regulations are often disregarded. However, change is possible through collective action.”

Every child has a right to a safe and healthy environment to play, walk, and move, without harm. “It’s up to each of us to make sure they can. Keep your speed in check — drive no more than 25 km/h near schools and 30 km/h near hospitals. Ensure children wear properly fitted helmets, and always fasten seatbelts, both front and rear, for everyone in the vehicle,” Sarkar added.

The author is a Bengaluru-based senior journalist.

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