As per the international data approximately 13,00,000 people perish in road accidents each year worldwide. Ten million of the injuries and disabilities are due to road crashes. According to expert’s appraisals the road death rate will increase twice by 2020 year, if we do not begin to take drastic measures now.

 

Globalization has made the planet's roads our common space. So the most advanced national road safety programs can not cope with the worldwide deadly traffic. Together we have the power to resist and fight this problem. Together we can overcome the dangers and reduce the number of deaths on the road.

 

Urban transport facilities in most of the Indian cities are inadequate. The development of public transport system has not kept pace with the traffic demand both in terms of quality and quantity. As a result personalized transport is growing at a rapid speed. Roads and footpaths today are heavily encroached by parked vehicles, hawkers and roadside businesses, forcing pedestrian to walk on the road. This results not only in restricting the traffic flow, but also putting the pedestrians’ life at a risk. Besides encroachment, it is found that road surface in most of the Indian cities is substandard. In addition, lane marking and traffic signs are usually missing and the intersections often require geometric correction. To overcome these issues we have to rethink our priorties and to learn from the experiences of others.

 

To reduce the fatalities on our Indian roads we need to reemphasize basic road safety norms, take assistance from new upcoming technologies and enhance our efforts in doing scientific accident data analysis. In road traffic extensive use is already being made of modern information and communications technology, both at the roadside and in the vehicle itself. This technology is usually collectively known as Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).

 

Today there is a need to do scientific data collection and then the analysis of the data. This can be possible with the help of ITS. Development of information and telecommunication technologies can promote the creation of a basic informative and analytical system about road crashes, causes of accidents, the quantity of vehicles on the roads, stolen cars etc.

 

With the adoption of these technologies in various fields e.g. traffic management, road design, data analysis etc. developed countries have achieved their target of reduction in road fatalities in their countries. Now we have a challenge on how to adapt these technologies with the target to reduce fatalities on our roads too.

 

For adaptation of international expertise in our country, SAFE Annual Convention 2010 theme this year is TIME FOR ACTION: GROWTH WITH RESPONISBILITY: ENSURING SAFETY ON ROADS . The Convention would be held on 5th May 2010 at Chandigarh, where we are targeting national and international experts to share their expertise in the area of accident data analysis and over all road safety with the participation from officials of Transport, Traffic Police, ITS Companies, Auto Components and Automobile Manufacturers, NGOs and others working for improvement of Safety on roads.