The problem
Road crashes are among the leading causes of death for young people in India, and Kerala’s dense, mixed traffic makes its roads particularly dangerous for those outside cars: people walking, cycling and riding two wheelers. Behind every death are families who lose an earner, a child or a parent.
Countries and cities that have sharply reduced road deaths did not do so through public awareness campaigns alone. They changed the design of roads, the speed of traffic and the way crashes are investigated.
Five steps
- Manage speed where people are. Lower and enforce speed limits near schools, markets, hospitals and junctions, with physical measures such as raised crossings rather than signs alone.
- Fix the most dangerous places first. Use crash data to identify the stretches and junctions where most deaths occur, and redesign them within a fixed time.
- Build for people on foot. Continuous footpaths, safe crossings and street lighting on every road where people walk.
- Investigate every fatal crash for its causes, not only to assign blame, and publish what is learned.
- Treat the first hour. Strengthen emergency response so that injured people reach trauma care quickly.
Making it happen
These steps need a lead agency with authority and a budget, clear annual targets, and public reporting on progress. Road safety is a responsibility shared by transport, public works, police, health and local governments. Without someone in charge, it will remain everyone’s concern and no one’s job.
[Placeholder publication. Replace with real CRGD work.]