The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways declared January 2025 as Road Safety Month, calling on all stakeholders to collaborate to make roads safer.
Road Safety Crisis – With approximately 11.9 lakh global road fatalities annually and road traffic crashes being the 13th largest contributor to India's health burden “between” 2009-2019.
Public health concern – Road safety has emerged as a critical public health concern requiring immediate attention.
Key risk factors – One of the ways to reduce road traffic injuries is to focus on key risk factors, such as speeding, not wearing helmet and seat belt, and drink driving.
Economic impact – According to a World Bank report, 75% of lower-income households and 57% of higher-income households reported income decline following a crash.
Measures taken–The United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 aims to halve road deaths globally by 2030.
India has aligned with this framework through various state-level initiatives.
Karnataka – Alone accounted for 8.6% of India's road fatalities in 2022, with crash incidents increasing by 9%, fatal crashes by 7%, and grievous injuries by 18% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Karnataka's Multi-Pronged Approach – Karnataka has implemented a comprehensive strategy combining mass media campaigns with enhanced enforcement:
December 2023 – Campaign addressing speeding through crash survivor stories, reaching an estimated 2.3 crore adult.
January 2024 – Campaign focused on correct helmet usage.
December 2024-January 2025 – Instructional campaign explaining crash science and speed impacts.
The Karnataka model demonstrates effective policy integration between public awareness and enforcement. Police conducted targeted enforcement drives while disseminating key messages at checkpoints and through social media.
This approach echoes successful international models like Bogotá, Colombia, where similar strategies reduced speeding.
Measures needed – Sustainable road safety improvement requires shifting cultural perceptions from viewing crashes as "unavoidable accidents" to "unacceptable tragedies."
Communication campaigns along with sound legislation and law enforcement have the most influence.
Studies suggest that even a single, well-designed, evidence-based road safety campaign can reduce crashes by 0.5%.
