more-in India is likely to have a uniform road safety code by the end of this financial year as the consultation process with all the stakeholders is nearly complete. Raman Deep Chaudhury, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, disclosed this on Tuesday in Hyderabad. “India has seen a sharp rise in number of vehicles and an equally sharp rise in the number of accidents. The government has taken it as a challenge and wants to bring down the accident rate across the country. The code is a step in the direction,” informed Mr. Chaudhury. States duty-bound A study was commissioned that factored in all aspects of the road safety before the beginning of the consultative process. Once the code is notified, it would standardise many facets of road safety with States duty-bound to implement it. “We are looking at best practices. We have had three rounds of deliberations in East Zone, West Zone and South Zone, only the North Zone consultations in Delhi are pending. We have a draft strategy paper and an action plan to bring down road accidents,” said Mr. Chaudhury. Mr. Chaudhury side-stepped the issue of corruption and road engineering citing paucity of funds for the low quality of roads in the country. “We cannot just look at one aspect of road safety. We need to see the big picture. We need to conduct a scientific study of road accidents and tabulate the findings. We have done just that. Many states like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have taken steps in the direction; this code will be a national push for road safety,” said Mr. Chaudhury. Voice of pessimism Malcolm Wolf, who has earlier worked with Metropolitan Police, shared his experiences for the action plan to reduce road accidents: “I am not very optimistic about this. We need to get the basics right. Good roads, easily accessible footpaths, easy regulatory mechanism and sticking to basic safety requirements is needed to improve road safety.” ‘Independent audit needed’ What is needed is an independent and sharp safety audit which can pinpoint lacunae, he said, adding, :If we can evolve that mechanism, then accidents will decline over a period of time. There has to be accountability which is not there now.”

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