CONCLAVE 2010 - Road Safety in India|NGO on Road Safety

ROAD SAFETY
<strong>2010</strong>
<strong>CONCLAVE</strong>
Mov<strong>in</strong>g towards a Comprehensive and
Integrated Approach
11 August <strong>2010</strong>: New Delhi
Hon’ble M<strong>in</strong>ister of State for <strong>Road</strong> Transport & Highways, Government of India, Mr. R P N S<strong>in</strong>gh, address<strong>in</strong>g the conclave. Sitt<strong>in</strong>g on the dias are
(L‐R) Mr. Anish Dayal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Mr. K K Kapila, ICT Pvt Ltd, Mr. Abhik Mitra, Chairman, CII Core Group on <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> &
Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director, TNT (India) Pvt. Ltd. and Mr. Ravishankar Rajaraman, JP Research
The <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Conclave <strong>2010</strong> “Mov<strong>in</strong>g
towards a Comprehensive and Integrated
Approach” was the first ever attempt by
the Confederation of Indian Industry to provide a
national platform to all stakeholders to deliberate,
discuss and chalk out an <strong>in</strong>tegrated approach on
road safety.
The Conclave was attended by more than 250
participants from <strong>in</strong>dustry, government, NGO,
consult<strong>in</strong>g firms, private road developers and managers,
organizations <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> road eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g
and design, education and awareness, tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g,
accident <strong>in</strong>vestigation and data creation, etc.
Address<strong>in</strong>g the Conclave as a Guest of Honour,
Mr. R P N S<strong>in</strong>gh, Hon’ble M<strong>in</strong>ister of State
for <strong>Road</strong> Transport and Highways elaborated
on various <strong>in</strong>itiatives that the Government of
India has taken <strong>in</strong> the recent past to strengthen

the road safety <strong>in</strong> the country. He particularly
referred to the National <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> and Traffic
Management Board Bill <strong>2010</strong>, prepared by the
M<strong>in</strong>istry to provide an <strong>in</strong>stitutional framework
to <strong>in</strong>tegrate <strong>in</strong>itiatives on road safety. He further
elaborated that the Parliamentary Stand<strong>in</strong>g Committee
has made certa<strong>in</strong> observations on the Bill,
which the M<strong>in</strong>istry is exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to make it more
comprehensive.
The M<strong>in</strong>istry of <strong>Road</strong> Transport & Highways
is also <strong>in</strong> the process of f<strong>in</strong>aliz<strong>in</strong>g a <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong>
Action Plan. The Action plan recognizes the
need for a coherent, multi-sectoral and <strong>in</strong>tegrated
approach. It envisages several concrete <strong>in</strong>itiatives to
be taken up to upgrade vehicle safety standards, to
R P N S<strong>in</strong>gh, Hon’ble M<strong>in</strong>ister of State for <strong>Road</strong> Transport & Highways,
Government of India, address<strong>in</strong>g the conclave
launch<strong>in</strong>g capacity build<strong>in</strong>g programmes such as
establishment of Centres of Excellence for
research on road safety.
Mike Patrick - Director Corporate Responsibility, TNT, V<strong>in</strong>ayak Chatterjee - Chairman,
CII Urbanisation and Future Cities Council & Chairman, Feedback Ventures Pvt. Ltd.,
V L Patankar - Member (Technical), National Highways Authority of India and Abhik Mitra,
Chairman, CII Core Group on <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> & Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director, TNT (India) Pvt. Ltd.
br<strong>in</strong>g about improvement <strong>in</strong> driv<strong>in</strong>g license system,
accidents date collection and evolution system and
Recogniz<strong>in</strong>g the vital importance of quick
medical assistance, the M<strong>in</strong>istry of <strong>Road</strong>
Transport and Highways under the Scheme
“National Highways Accident Relief Service
Scheme” has provided hundreds of cranes
and ambulances to states, UTs and NGO
for relief and rescue measures. Further,
the M<strong>in</strong>istry of Health and Family Welfare
has f<strong>in</strong>alized a scheme for establishment
of Trauma Care Facilities along National
Highways to provide the competent medical
assistance with<strong>in</strong> the shortest possible time,
he added.
K K Kapila, Chairman, International
<strong>Road</strong> Federation (IRF), Chairman,
CII Sub group on Education,
Awareness and Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g & <strong>Road</strong>
Eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g and Design & Chairman
and Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director, ICT Pvt. Ltd.
Atul Kumar, Chief General Manager,
National Highways Authority of India
Andrew Pearce, Chief Executive,
GRSP
H S Kohli, Director, DSC Limited

Besides the Hon’ble M<strong>in</strong>ister of State for <strong>Road</strong>
Transport and Highways, the <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong>
Conclave was addressed by several other prom<strong>in</strong>ent
personalities both from India and abroad,
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g, Mr. A.V S<strong>in</strong>ha, Director General,
M<strong>in</strong>istry of <strong>Road</strong> Transport & Highways, Mr. V.L
Patankar, Member (Technical), National Highways
authority of India, Mr. V<strong>in</strong>ayak Chatterjee,
Chairman, Feedback Ventures Pvt Ltd, Mr. Mike
Patrick, Director – Corporate Responsibility,
TNT, Mr. B H Anil Kumar, Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director,
Karnataka <strong>Road</strong> Development Corporation Ltd,
Mr. Andrew Pearce, Chief Executive, Global <strong>Road</strong>
<strong>Safety</strong> Partnership, Geneva, Mr. Atul Kumar,
Chief General Manager, NHAI, Mr. K K Kapila,
Chairman, International <strong>Road</strong> Federation, etc.
has been set up to strengthen the road safety on
national highways. NHAI has completed road
safety audits on 2800 kms of highways and is now
are <strong>in</strong> the process to have road audits done for
another 5400 kms of highways, he stated.
Mr. A V S<strong>in</strong>ha, Director General (<strong>Road</strong>s), M<strong>in</strong>istry
of <strong>Road</strong> Transport & Highways said that the road
safety is multi discipl<strong>in</strong>ary problem and hence
it requires a coherent & <strong>in</strong>tegrated approach,
br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g together the fragmented efforts of
all stakeholders. He further advocated for an
<strong>in</strong>stitutional arrangement, a focal po<strong>in</strong>t, with
requisite power to give directions, set regulations
Mr. V<strong>in</strong>ayak Chatterjee, Chairman, Feedback
Ventures Pvt. Ltd. and former chairman, CII
National Council on Infrastructure, <strong>in</strong> his address
at the <strong>in</strong>augural session, mooted the idea of
form<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>dependent Regulatory Authority
for the <strong>Road</strong> Sector, which <strong>in</strong>ter-alia could also
address the issue of road safety. Advocat<strong>in</strong>g for a
holistic approach, he stated that national highways
constitute merely 2% of the total road network
<strong>in</strong> India and hence the issue such as road safety
requires much wider consultation and discussion
beyond national highways.
Earlier address<strong>in</strong>g the gather<strong>in</strong>g, Mr. V L Patankar,
Member (Technical), National Highways Authority
of India said that a specialized <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Cell
A V S<strong>in</strong>ha, Director General, M<strong>in</strong>istry of <strong>Road</strong> Transport & Highways,
Government of India
and to provide resources to strengthen road
safety.
Mr. K K Kapila, President, International <strong>Road</strong>
Federation (IRF) and Chairman & Manag<strong>in</strong>g
Director, ICT Pvt. Ltd. cit<strong>in</strong>g the example of
B H Anil Kumar, Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director,
Karnataka <strong>Road</strong>, Development
Corporation Ltd.
R K Saboo, Chairman, Express
Industry Council of India & Dy.
Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director, First Flight
Couriers Ltd.
Nandakumar Shamanna, Zonal Chair
(Bangalore), DNV
Dr. J S Thakur, National Professional
Officer (Non Communicable,
Diseases and Social Determ<strong>in</strong>ants of
Health), WHO

Karnataka Government’s formation of road safety
authority, op<strong>in</strong>ed that there is a need for similar
<strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Boards <strong>in</strong> all states and Centre. <strong>Road</strong>
<strong>Safety</strong> must be an <strong>in</strong>tegral part of all upcom<strong>in</strong>g
projects and requisite funds must be allocated
to address it. A composite <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Action
Plan needs to be an <strong>in</strong>tegral part of all projects,
he added.
Mr. Mike Patrick, Director-Corporate Responsibility,
TNT <strong>in</strong> his address stressed on the need for
develop<strong>in</strong>g an action plan and monitor<strong>in</strong>g
performance.
Mr. Andrew Pearce, Chief Executive, Global
<strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Partnership (GRSP) observed that
road safety is a man-made hazard. He called for
concerted efforts particularly among the three most
important pillars i.e. civil society, government and
bus<strong>in</strong>ess to steer a change. Civil society has an
important role <strong>in</strong> rais<strong>in</strong>g its voice and garner<strong>in</strong>g
a movement, bus<strong>in</strong>ess has enormous stake and
government has a social obligation, he added.
Mr. B H Anil Kumar, Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director,
Karnataka <strong>Road</strong> Development Corporation Limited
highlighted the need for capacity build<strong>in</strong>g at
all levels, be it highway eng<strong>in</strong>eers, transport
departments, NGO’s, police, etc.. He also called
for an <strong>in</strong>stitutional system to avoid multiplicity
of enforcement agencies and a periodical &
regular assessment of assets <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g signage
boards/ warn<strong>in</strong>gs. Present<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>itiatives that
Government of Karnataka has taken on road safety,
he stated that a state level authority on Traffic and
Transportation is already <strong>in</strong> place headed by Chief
Secretary. Similarly at district level, <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong>
Council is headed by Collector and Super<strong>in</strong>tendent
of Police. The Government of Karnataka has also
<strong>in</strong>corporated specific chapter on road safety <strong>in</strong>
PWD manuals which <strong>in</strong>cludes construction and
work zone safety.
Mr. Atul Kumar, Chief General Manager, National
Highways Authority of India emphasized on the
need for proper accident analysis and reports to
assess the reasons for road accidents. He stated
that the National Highways Authority of India
has embarked upon a programme to get the road
audits done on national highways. The audit would
<strong>in</strong>clude work zone safety audit apart from traffic
audit. The low and medium cost issues identified
<strong>in</strong> the audit, would be addressed through O&M
and high cost issues would be addressed through
provision of 4 and 6- lan<strong>in</strong>g, underpasses, flyovers,
etc. He further <strong>in</strong>formed the audience that
NHAI, with the assistance of the World Bank, is
appo<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>ternational <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Advisor
Rose van Steijn, Programme Manager,
Fleet Forum

to give know-how and <strong>in</strong>ternational best practices
<strong>in</strong> road safety.
At the Valedictory Session, Mr. Abhik Mitra,
Chairman, CII Core Group on <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong>
presented 6 specific <strong>in</strong>itiatives that CII would
undertake this year with measurable, def<strong>in</strong>able
with clear milestones. These <strong>in</strong>clude adoption
of a highway stretch to take holistic activities to
reduce accidents / fatalities, work on regulatory
aspects of road safety <strong>in</strong> a comprehensive manner,
focus on enhanc<strong>in</strong>g accident <strong>in</strong>vestigation analysis
on highways and major cities, implementation of
a driver tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g programme, mobile awareness
creation units for cities and highways and work <strong>in</strong>
Delhi to <strong>in</strong>crease awareness / reduce accidents.
Abhik Mitra, Chairman, CII Core Group on <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> &
Manag<strong>in</strong>g Director, TNT (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Hon’ble M<strong>in</strong>ister of State for <strong>Road</strong> Transport & Highways, Government of India, R P N S<strong>in</strong>gh, s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g the
<strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Charter at the Conclave. Also seen <strong>in</strong> the picture are K K Kapila (L) and Abhik Mitra (R).

The Conclave witnessed the sign<strong>in</strong>g of “<strong>Road</strong>
<strong>Safety</strong> Charter” by the participants, committ<strong>in</strong>g
to improve road safety performance and drive
a change by tak<strong>in</strong>g collaborative action <strong>in</strong> the
follow<strong>in</strong>g areas:
• Build<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Road</strong> <strong>Safety</strong> Management Capacities
• Improv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Road</strong> Design and Network
Management
• Promot<strong>in</strong>g Vehicle <strong>Safety</strong> Design
• Influenc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Road</strong> User Behaviour
• Improv<strong>in</strong>g Post Accident Trauma-care
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Published by Confederation of Indian Industry, The Mantosh Sondhi Centre, 23, Institutional Area, Lodi <strong>Road</strong>, New Delhi - 110 003
September <strong>2010</strong>