PRESS RELEASE
CAN ACHIEVE 50% REDUCTION IN ROAD CRASH DEATHS AND INJURIES BY 2025: UNION MINISTER NITIN GADKARI AT ROAD SAFETY NETWORK’S MULTI STAKEHOLDER NATIONAL WEBINAR
8th September 2020. New Delhi. Sh. Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways expressed confidence that India will achieve the target of 50 per cent reduction in road crashes and fatalities by year 2025, five years ahead of 2030 goal at the National Road Safety Webinar organised by Consumer Voice and National Road Safety Network.
National Road Safety Network, a coalition of leading road safety experts and organizations from across the country, hosted one of the most important multi-stakeholder convenings since the passage of Motor Vehicles Amendment Act in August last year. The ‘National Webinar on Road Safety’ organised by Consumer Voice and other members of the Road Safety Network served as a platform for various important National and International stakeholders to come together and reinforce their commitment to save lives on Indian Roads through tangible action and effective implementation of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019.
Hon’ble Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Sh. Nitin Gadkari gave the Keynote address and stressed on the need for collaborative action and innovation. Shri Gadkari said, “While the Government is committed to reducing fatalities and injuries by 50% by 2030 we feel this can be achieved by 2025.”
He further added, “Road Safety is not a political subject. It is a national challenge to reduce road casualty numbers and we all should work together towards saving lives. MVAA is well appreciated by stakeholders at an international level. Nationally we have a federal system and we need cooperation from State Governments to implement the Act and save lives.”
Dr. Kelly Henning of Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) and Dr. Judy Fleiter from Global Road Safety Partnership also addressed the gathering. Dr. Kelly Henning said, Road crashes continue to be the 8th largest cause of death in the world and the leading killer of people aged 5-29. We at Bloomberg Philanthropies are committed to saving lives globally and in India by strengthening data, innovation and local action around road safety. Bloomberg Philanthropies will continue to support India in its goal of saving lives and providing safer roads. Dr. Judy Fleiter from Global Road Safety Partnership said, The SDGs provide a global language to prioritise global development issues and acknowledge Road Safety as an important development issue. The Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) works to strengthen road safety with a multi sector approach. GRSP is working with law enforcement agencies in India to enhance traffic law enforcement efforts. I urge all stakeholders to work together to continue to save lives on Indian roads.
Various M.Ps including Shri KTS Tulsi, Hon’ble MP (Rajya Sabha) and Shri Bajayant (Jay) Panda, National vice president and spokesperson, BJP also discussed the policy reforms needed to improve road safety. Shri Bajayant Panda said “MVAA has been a major inflection point because it came after three decades. It has brought the issue of Road Safety to the forefront. This is the biggest contribution of the Act. We cannot afford to lose so many people every year. It is incumbent on all of us to champion the cause and explain this to the public. No matter how much we improve our public transport we also need to improve our culture and habits. That can only change by way of incentives and disincentives through Central Motor Vehicle Rules.”
The final session of the webinar included a discussion with the State Transport Ministers. Shri R.C. Faldu of Gujarat,, the Minister of State, Shri Ishwarsinh Thakorbhai Patel and Shri Yunus Khan, Chairman, GOM on Road Safety & Transport, and former Transport Minister, Rajasthan emphasized the need for multi stakeholders approach to tackle the road safety issues. They elaborated on their action plans which are able to reduce road casualties.
Talking about the need to bring all the stakeholders together to discuss this important issue, Shri Ashim Sanyal, COO, Consumer VOICE said, “It’s been a year since the passage of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act and Consumer Voice being part of the Road Safety Network felt it was important to bring together all the stakeholders and create a common platform to discuss the strategies for effective implementation of the Act. We hope to see swift action by all government stakeholders in ensuring effective implementation and enforcement of the Act to save lives.”
Every year around 150,000 die in road crashes in India. RSN notes that several sections of the Act have not been brought into force. Key rules related to helmets, child restraints, the setting up of the National Road Safety Board, standards for construction and design of roads and electronic enforcement are a priority.
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Annexures
- Quote Bank
- About Road Safety Network
Annexure 1:
QUOTE BANK
Dr. Kelly Henning, Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), New York said:
“Road crashes continue to be the 8th largest cause of death in the world and the leading killer of people aged 5-29. We at Bloomberg Philanthropies are committed to saving lives globally and in India by strengthening data, innovation and local action around road safety. Bloomberg Philanthropies will continue to support India in its goal of saving lives and providing safer roads”
Dr. Judy Fleiter, Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP), Geneva said:
“The SDGs provide a global language to prioritise global development issues and acknowledge Road Safety as an important development issue. The Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) works to strengthen road safety with a multisectoral approach. We believe it’s important to focus on key behavioural factors and work together with stakeholders to achieve this goal. GRSP is working with law enforcement agencies in India to enhance traffic law enforcement efforts. I urge all stakeholders to work together to continue to save lives on Indian roads.”
Consumer Voice / Road Safety Network India Partner:
“It’s been a year since the passage of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act and Consumer Voice being part of the Road Safety Network felt it was important to bring together all the stakeholders and create a common platform to discuss the strategies for effective implementation of the Act. We hope to see swift action by all government stakeholders in ensuring effective implementation of the Act to save lives.”
Sh. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and MSME, Govt. of India:
“Road Safety is not a political subject. It is a national challenge to reduce numbers and we all should work together towards saving lives. MVAA is well appreciated by stakeholders at an international level. Nationally we have a federal system and we need cooperation from State Governments to implement the Act and save lives. ”
Sh. Bajayant (Jay) Panda), National Vice President and Spokesperson, BJP.
MVAA has been a major inflection point because it came after three decades. It has brought the issue of Road Safety to the forefront. This is the biggest contribution of the Act. We cannot afford to lose so many people every year. It is incumbent on all of us to champion the cause and explain this to the public. No matter how much we improve our public transport we also need to improve our culture and habits. That can only change by way of incentives and disincentives through Central Motor Vehicle Rules.
Shri Yunus Khan, Chairman, Erstwhile GOM on Road Safety & Transport, and former Transport Minister, Rajasthan
Road Crashes have caused more deaths than COVID-19 and young people witness high mortality and morbidity burden due to road crashes. It took over 30 years to change the Motor Vehicles Act and since then technology has changed and the population has gone up and the speed of vehicles has also increased. Therefore there was a need to fundamentally and comprehensively update the legislation. Proper implementation of this law will help save lives and that is the most important thing.
Shri R.C. Faldu, State Transport Minister, Gujarat
“Gujarat was one of the first states to establish a Road Safety Authority. In fact we have also reduced the accidents by 9.18% in 2019 compared to 2018. Our Government is committed to reduce the number of road crash deaths in the State by working on all 4 Es of Road Safety”
Annexure 2:
Road Safety Network
The Road Safety Network (RSN) is a national network of civil society organizations, individuals, road safety experts, and road crash victims come together to improve safety on roads. The network approaches the issue of road safety in multiple ways – an academic, socio -economic, policy based and awareness-oriented perspective to help cover the various linkages that road safety has.
Consumer VOICE (Lead Organization)
Voluntary Organization in the Interest of Consumer Education (CONSUMER VOICE) is a consumer protection group set up in 1983 and our mission is “Consumer Empowerment” VOICE is a Delhi based national level consumer organization, representing consumer interests in various policymaking and regulatory agencies at national and international level since 37 years. VOICE has been publishing monthly magazine –Consumer VOICE since 1996-97 in English, Hindi and Digital, our main communication channel with the consumers at large. We are working on Road Safety, Tobacco Intervention, Food Safety, Financial literacy and consumer related subjects.
SaveLIFE Foundation
SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF) is an independent, non-profit organization committed to improving road safety and access to emergency medical care across India and the developing world. We are a team connected with the spirit of public service. We are committed to saving lives on Indian roads and to do so, we connect research, advocacy, communication and on-ground execution (RACE). Over the past few years, we have facilitated the enactment of key legislations in India such as the Good Samaritan Law, adopted one of India’s deadliest highways to transform it into a zero-fatality corridor, trained thousands of Police officers and volunteers in life- saving techniques and built award-winning technology to connect and assist stakeholders including bereaved families from extremely poor backgrounds.
Parisar
Parisar has been working on environment and sustainable urban development for the past three decades. While their interest areas are diverse and cover a range of things that affect the liveability of cities, over the years streamlined efforts have been made in the sustainable urban transportation, air quality and road safety. They believe in bringing about systemic changes through policy advocacy driven by stakeholder involvement.
Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group
Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG) is a Chennai-based, 34-year-old non-profit and non-political organisation that works towards protecting citizens’ rights in consumer and environmental issues and promoting good governance processes including transparency, accountability and participatory decision making.
Centre for Environment Education
Centre for Environment Education (CEE) was established in 1984 as a Centre of Excellence of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. As a national institution, CEE’s mandate is to promote environmental awareness nationwide. CEE develops innovative programmes and educational material and builds capacity in the field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It is committed to ensure that Environmental Education (EE) leads to action for sustainable development. CEE hosts the secretariat for the Road Safety Network Gujarat chapter and is working to promote the safe systems approach to road safety in Gujarat in partnership with Indian Institute of Public Health, Mahila Housing Trust and The Urban Lab and other partners.
CUTS International
CUTS International is a leading consumer organisation in the Country, which works across the states and in more than 25 countries globally. CUTS is working in the area of Consumer Protection, Trade, Regulation, Competition, Good Governance and Sustainable Development issues for more than 36 years and headquartered in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Road Safety has been one of its focus areas since beginning and it is working intensively at national, state and local level to protect the common consumers and road users.
National Safety Council – Maharashtra Chapter
National Safety Council – Maharashtra Chapter was established in the year 1955 with an objective to create occupational health & safety awareness in the industrial sector and the community at large. Since 2015, National Safety Council-Maharashtra Chapter is addressing Road Safety issues at large by devising effective methods for practicing Road Safety to achieve the “Vision Zero” attitude among society & industry. NSC-MC regularly organizes Road Safety awareness program for school children, college students, etc. NSC-MC has also developed a training module on Defensive Driving and organizing training for drivers from various fields.
United Way Mumbai
United Way Mumbai is a part of the 130+ year old United Way movement engaged in nearly 1800 communities, spanning 41 countries across the world. As part of our commitment for improving the state of Road Safety in India, United Way Mumbai has been implementing a special community impact initiative namely; UNITED FOR ROAD SAFETY (URS), with focus on Education, Enforcement, and Advocacy & Emergency care (Post crash care response). This is in keeping with the rising road crash related deaths in India.
