Chennai: A Motor Vehicle Inspector at Red Hills, Chennai, is busy presenting his Ph.D thesis “Impact of Knowledge and Awareness on Road Safety Management,” a first of its kind paper, at national and international platforms.
Equipped with innernational facts from American University Library, Dubai and Tamil Nadu inputs from Institute of Road Transport, Taramani, author C. Nedumaran who pursued his doctorate last November opines that drivers in the state lack logical calculations and are weak in arithmetic, making Tamil Nadu second highest in number of road accident deaths in the country.
The number of deaths occurring on roads of Tamil Nadu in 2003 was 9,275. From 2003 to 2005, the toll remained almost the same. Since 2006, the figure has been steadily rising peaking to 15,409, 15,422, and 16,175 in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
And over the past three years, this number has been increasing steadily by three per cent, despite introduction of more safety measures. Currently, the responsibility for road safety management is highly fragmented and diffused with hardly any coordination among government agencies like traffic control, road transport department, highways and vehicle manufacturers.
“Our safety standards are far below international standards. There is a need for a separate road accident investigation wing in every RTO office with a budgetary provision for it. This wing should investigate accidents and devise long term plans to reduce mishaps. At present, there is no systematic method to detect road safety defaulters.
In certain offences, which are dangerous in nature, vehicles should be confiscated. For causing death of others, driving license should be cancelled for at least more than one year. Quality of driving school education needs to be improved.
