Road Safety

Human error, lack of training led to BEST bus tragedy, suspect officials

Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials on Tuesday said they suspect that a "human error" and "lack of proper training" led to the horrific accident in Mumbai's Kurla, where a BEST bus fatally knocked down seven persons and injured 42 others. Soon after the incident occurred on Monday night, an investigation team of the Wadala RTO found that the brakes of the electric bus of Olectra-make were operating well. The e-bus operated by the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking rammed into pedestrians and vehicles at around 9.30 pm on Monday on the S G Barve Marg in Kurla (West). Sanjay More (54), who was at the wheel of the ill-fated bus, was later arrested. A team of the Wadala RTO reached the spot a couple of hours after the incident. The RTO team led by motor vehicle inspector Bharat Jadhav completed the inspection of the bus at the BEST's Kurla depot this morning. BEST administration, with the help of Mumbai police, shifted the bus from the acciden

Govt set to introduce new rules for traffic radar equipment verification

The government is set to implement new regulations requiring mandatory verification and stamping of traffic radar equipment, aimed at improving road safety and enforcement accuracy across the country. The Legal Metrology Division of the Consumer Affairs Ministry has finalised the draft rules following extensive consultations with stakeholders, including the Indian Institute of Legal Metrology, Regional Reference Laboratories, manufacturers, and vehicle certification organizations. "The suggestions received during various consultations are examined carefully and the rules will be notified shortly," the ministry said in a statement. The new rules, which fall under the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011, will apply for "microwave Doppler radar equipment" widely utilised for measuring vehicle speeds on roads. The new framework requires all speed measurement devices to undergo verification and receive official stamps before deployment. This process aims to guarantee precise readings

Govt launches special nationwide drive against substandard helmets

The Centre has ordered district officials to crack down on manufacturers and sellers of non-ISI certified helmets, following concerns over road safety and substandard protective gear flooding the market. The government has cancelled or allowed to expire 162 helmet manufacturing licences to date, while authorities have conducted 27 raids targeting violations of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) regulations, the consumer affairs ministry said on Saturday. "Helmets save lives, but only if they are of good quality," Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said. "This initiative is crucial in removing unsafe helmets from the market." The crackdown comes after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways implemented a Quality Control Order in June 2021, making BIS certification mandatory for all helmets under standard IS 4151:2015. The officials have particularly targeted roadside vendors selling uncertified helmets, which have been linked to motorcycle accident fatalities. Consumers can ..

Road safety authority crucial to reducing accidents, says new study

While India's road safety record continues to deteriorate, countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka are successfully cutting traffic fatalities

Royal Enfield initiates global recall over safety issue with reflectors

Although there have been no major incidents reported, Royal Enfield is recalling these motorcycles as a precautionary measure to maintain high safety standards

IIT Madras, Ford partner on road safety for young drivers post MoRTH study

MoRTH report on Road Accidents in India 2022 revealed that 42,878 out of 168,491 fatal road accident victims were under 25 years of age

Road accidents claim more lives than wars, militancy, Naxalism: Gadkari

More people have lost their lives in India in road accidents than wars, militancy and Naxalism, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. Addressing the sixth Edition of FICCI Road Safety Awards and Conclave 2024, Gadkari further said the number of blackspots is increasing because of bad detailed project reports (DPRs) of road projects. "More people have lost lives in road crashes than wars, militancy and Naxalism," he said. According to Gadkari, India accounts for 5 lakh accidents and 1.5 lakh deaths annually, while 3 lakh people are injured. "This caused a 3 per cent loss to the country's GDP. Like a sacrificial lamb, a driver is blamed for every accident. Let me tell you, and I observe minutely -- often, the road engineering is at fault," he said. The minister emphasised on the need to conduct safety audit of all highways. He also noted that to reduce number of accidents, "we need to follow lane discipline". Gadkari added that the Ministry of

Noida police fines driver Rs 1,000 for not wearing a helmet - in a car

The driver Tushar Saxena further said that he had never driven his car in the area where the fine has occurred

UN launches road safety campaign in US, to halve number of victims by 2030

The United Nations on Monday launched its global road safety campaign in the United States, which aims to halve the number of road-related victims worldwide by 2030. The two-year advertising campaign seeks to educate people on basic, but life-saving, safety measures, such as wearing seatbelts and helmets and putting away phones on the road, UN Special Envoy for Road Safety Jean Todt told a news conference opening the US campaign. The advertisements will appear on JCDecaux billboards in more than 80 countries and 1,000 cities, including New York City, Chicago, and Boston starting Monday, said Jean-Luc Decaux, president and co-CEO of JCDecaux North America. He said the campaign underscores how the media's reach can raise awareness to save lives and further the message of international road safety. The #MakeASafetyStatement campaign is part of the UN New Decade of Action for Road Safety, which launched in 2021. More than one million people die in road-related fatalities annually, over

NHAI sets up dedicated cell to review DPRs of national highway projects

The cell will provide expert inputs and enable end-to-end monitoring of the DPR (detailed project report) for national highway projects

Pune Porsche case: Aunt of accused files plea seeking release of juvenile

The petition, filed in Bombay High Court on June 10, came up for hearing before a division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande on Friday

Deadly car crash in US kills 3 women; victims reportedly from India

Three women, reportedly from India, were killed in a deadly crash in the US state of South Carolina when their overspeeding car veered out of control before jumping at least 20 feet in the air and crashing into trees, media reports said. The accident occurred on Friday at noon on the Staunton Bridge Road along Interstate 85 near Lakeside Road, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol troopers, Fox Carolina reported. The women, who were reportedly Indians, were travelling in the SUV speeding in the northbound lanes of Interstate 85, Chief Deputy Coroner Mike Ellis from the Greenville County Coroner's Office said. He said the vehicle left the roadway on the right-hand shoulder, ran up the embankment, went through the cement bridge embankment, and jumped completely over all four lanes of traffic. It then went through some trees on the other side of the roadway and down an embankment, Ellis added. When the vehicle jumped all four lanes of traffic, it actually struck trees probab

Ford motors recalls over 456,000 cars due to loss of drive power risk

Ford is recalling more than 4,56,000 Bronco Sport and Maverick vehicles due to a battery detection issue that can result in loss of drive power, increasing crash risks. According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the body and power train control modules for these cars may fail to detect changes in battery charge. And when undetected, a low battery charge can cause an unexpected loss of drive power including sudden stalling or inability to restart and the use of other electric capabilities like hazard lights. The recall covers about 403,000 model year 2021-2024 Bronco Sports produced between February 2020 and March 2024, as well as more than 53,000 model year 2022-2023 Mavericks manufactured from February 2021 to October 2022, a recall report dated Friday notes. To remedy this issue, dealers will recalibrate the impacted vehicles' body and power train control modules at no cost. Owner notification letters are set to be mailed out on May 1

Govt to issue fresh draft for installation of rear seat belt alarm in cars

The Motor Vehicle Act mandates in-built seat belt reminders for drivers and passengers in the front seats, while also stipulating a Rs 1,000 fine for those found in violation of the Act

Quite a hell of a ride

Ensuring road safety on India's highways needs a mission mode approach, if the country is to rid itself of the ignominious tag of being the most dangerous place in the world

Zomato to distribute Bluetooth-enabled helmets to all delivery partners

Zomato said it distributed over 250,000 wearable assets to its delivery partners in 2022-23

Road safety topmost priority, will reduce accident deaths by 50%: Gadkari

Road safety is the topmost priority of the government, which has set a target to reduce accident deaths by 50 per cent by 2030, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. Addressing an event organised by industry body CII, Gadkari further said change in social behaviour is very important along with focusing on strengthening 4Es' of road safety -- Engineering (road & vehicle engineering), Enforcement, Education and Emergency medical service. He emphasized on cooperation of all stakeholders for enhancing road safety. The road transport and highways minister said as per a report, there were 4.6 lakh road accidents, 1.68 lakh deaths and 4 lakh serious injuries in 2022. He said every hour there are 53 road accidents and 19 deaths. Gadkari said the number of road accidents increased by 12 per cent and accident deaths by 10 per cent in 2022, resulting in loss of 3.14 per cent to the GDP . The minister said 60 per cent of deaths was in the age group of 18-35 years. He said the system

Nitin Gadkari targets 50% reduction in road accident deaths by 2030

The latest report on road accidents 2022 reported 460,000 accidents, 168,000 deaths, and around 400,000 serious injuries. Around 60% of deaths occurred among the age group of 18 to 35 years

Centre launches new car programme for safety rating of passenger vehicles

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways stated that the programme shall be applicable on type approved vehicles of category M1, manufactured or imported in the country on or after October 1, 2023

'Increasing demand for SUVs major road safety, environmental challenge'

The automobile industry's relentless push to sell larger and heavier SUVs a major road safety as well as environmental challenge and the government should discourage sale of these big vehicles, a top official of the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP) said on Tuesday. Speaking at an event organized by the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), Global NCAP executive president David Ward said the Indian government has taken maximum steps for increasing road safety in the past few years including development of Bharat NCAP with partnership with GNCAP. "The car industry's relentless push to sell ever larger and heavier SUVs is bad news for road safety, but particularly for those driving smaller, more (fuel) efficient vehicles, and vulnerable road users," he said. According to Ward, the risk of fatal injuries to vulnerable road users increases as the bonnet height of the vehicle hitting them increases. "Increasing growth and demand for SUVs in India and other countrie