In today’s Finshots, we tell you why Indian roads need data and surveillance.

But before we dive in, here’s something that might catch your attention. Something strange is happening in India’s healthcare sector. Private equity firms are snapping up majority stakes in hospital chains. Temasek, for instance, now holds a 59% stake in Manipal Hospitals, while Blackstone controls CARE Hospitals and KIMS in Kerala. So, why are investors so keen and what does it mean for us? Find out in our latest video, right here!

Now, on to today’s story.

The Story

Indian roads are dangerous. Even the Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari, admits that despite all the success in developing Indian road infrastructure, his biggest regret is failing to make Indian roads safer. And the numbers don’t lie.

Nearly 1.7 lakh Indians lost their lives in road accidents in 2022. That’s over 460 deaths a day! But that number might be far from the real figure, and the reality could be much worse. And before we explain why, let’s see how India compares to countries with better road safety.

If you were on the road in India back in 1990, you were 40% more likely to die in a road accident compared to someone in developed countries like Sweden and other Scandinavian nations. And if that sounds scary, buckle up. Because fast forward three decades to 2021, and the risk had skyrocketed to a staggering 600%! Yup, you’re now six times more likely to die on an Indian road than in these safer nations. And this chilling stat comes from the latest Indian Status Report on Road Safety 2024.

Now you might think that it’s unfair to compare India to these countries. They have more money and probably spend less time on the road, right? Well, not exactly.

An average person in a metro city in India spends about 40 kilometres a day commuting to and from work. In Sweden and the US, people travel even more and yet experience far fewer road deaths. And the argument about being a developing country doesn't fly either. Data shows that income levels don’t directly affect road safety, and there are countries like Kenya and Nigeria with similar or lower Gross National Income (GNI) per capita than India that have far fewer accidents. Research from the Global Status of Road Safety Report 2023 backs this up, stating that historical trends from many countries show that despite the increase of vehicles, incomes and population, road traffic injuries (RTIs) have reduced.

So, being a “developing country” isn’t a valid excuse for the danger on Indian roads. Plus, let’s not forget that in 2022, India received $500 million from The World Bank and Asian Development Bank specifically to improve road safety. Despite having only 1% of the global vehicular population and not being the top car-owning country, India still ranks among the highest in the world for annual road accident deaths.

So, what’s going on? And why do we think that the 1.7 lakh figure we mentioned earlier could actually be even higher?

See, when an accident happens in India, the first thing people do is head to the police to file an FIR (First Information Report). But here’s where the problem begins. Once an FIR is filed, the cause of the accident has to be recorded as ‘fault’ of a driver or ‘human error’ for more than 80% of accidents. The real causes like poor road design or faulty vehicles rarely get recorded. So, we never really get the full picture of what’s causing these accidents. And when these flawed reports pass through layers of bureaucracy and end up with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), they become the official stats.

So, a lot gets lost along the way.

In fact, studies show that official data could underreport up to 40% of actual road deaths! For context, a study in Bengaluru found that the police data missed 5% of road deaths. And another study estimated that there were over 2 lakh deaths in 2019, which was 40% higher than the government’s official figure. Shocking, no?

That’s exactly why we say that the real number is probably much worse than the number of deaths reported. And all that clearly shows why Indian road safety is screaming for help.

So what’s the solution, you ask?

Well, it all boils down to what we just discussed ― data and surveillance. Because to save lives on roads, we need better data. And that requires a well-running crash surveillance system. It’s one of the recommendations in the latest road safety report.

The countries we mentioned earlier ― Sweden, the US and Australia, all have already adopted these systems, and they’ve seen dramatic improvements in road safety.

Sweden’s “Vision Zero” strategy for instance, aims for zero road fatalities. And their data-driven traffic monitoring has reduced deaths by 50% over the past two decades. Their Strada system integrates police and hospital data, giving them a full picture of road traffic injuries.

The US also plans to implement advanced Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology which allows cars to “talk” to each other and to traffic signals, improving emergency response times and leading to data driven policy decisions.

And Australia has implemented real-time surveillance on highways. And it has helped reduce accidents as well as improve road design.

When we say crash surveillance systems, imagine cameras and sensors that track accidents in real-time. They capture details like what caused the crash, how fast the vehicles were going, and how bad the injuries were. With this kind of information, authorities can make smarter decisions to keep roads safer and cut down on accidents.

But in India we’re nowhere near having that level of real-time monitoring. Sure, some cities have cameras and sensors. But they cover only a small portion of the roads. And the use of AI (artificial intelligence) to analyse this data is still in its early stages. Awareness and adoption of V2X tech is also relatively low. And while smart roads exist, they’re not fully integrated with real-time data collection.

So yeah, the government can take a serious look at these crash surveillance systems.

And hey, it’s not just about saving lives. Improving road safety also has a significant economic impact. According to a World Bank report, road accidents disproportionately affect poor households, pushing them further into poverty and debt. In fact, over 70% of crash victims come from these disadvantaged backgrounds. So, road crashes take a toll not only emotionally but also financially on families.

On top of this, India has set a vision to achieve zero road fatalities by 2030 as part of its global road safety targets. However, without better data and an effective surveillance system, reaching that goal might remain out of reach.

But it’s not just about government efforts. As Mr. Gadkari highlights, the lack of respect for traffic laws among motorists and pedestrians plays a significant role in the problem. Until we as a society start taking road safety seriously, no amount of technology will make our roads safer.

What do you think?

Until next time…

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