Vision Zero Sweden Traffic Control Policy

FUTURE OF ROAD SAFETY IN INDIA :A CASE STUDY TO IMPLEMENT ‘VISION ZERO’ POLICY

ABSTRACT

The present report provides a comprehensive review of road safety scenario in India from a public health perspective. Data sources for the review include published and unpublished reports from National Crime Records Bureau (2016), Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (2016) as well as global reports and independent research studies / reports/

unpublished documents. The report focusses on Road Traffic Injuries, deaths, disabilities, risk factors, injury patterns and distributions, as well as the current Indian response to this burgeoning epidemic. This summary report in conjunction with the detailed report entitled “Advancing Road Safety in India-- implementation is the key “ and “Advancing Road Safety in India-- facts and figures” provides in-depth information on all aspects of road safety and the current road safety initiatives from the Indian region. These reports are aimed at policy makers from different sectors and road safety practitioners from diverse disciplines for taking all possible steps to save lives and reduce injuries on Indian roads.

There are now signs in other countries that a more radical approach to this problem is gaining acceptance and credibility. Sweden is already among those countries with the lowest number of traffic fatalities in relation to its population. However, in spite of this record in 1997 the Swedish Parliament introduced a “Vision Zero” policy that requires that fatalities and serious injuries are reduced to zero by 2020

INTRODUCTION

According to 2020 reports Monaco and Micronesia rank at top but as due to less traffic density it is comfortable to control such road fatals therefore in such case we look towards the most developed country like Sweden in case of road fatal with use of “Vision Zero” policy.Looking at our country, over 1.2 million people die every year on the roads world wide and between 20-50 million suffer from non-fatal injuries Over 90% of the world’s fatalities on the roads occur in low-income and middle income countries,which have only 48% of the world’s vehicles. Road traffic injuries are one of the top three causes of death for people Aged between 20 to 35 years. Among the major causes of mortality in the country, Road Traffic Accident was the tenth cause during the last two decades back. As this cause is undertook by Swedish government and turn into lifetime opportunity.Swedish road safety work is based on a refusal to accept human deaths or lifelong suffering as a result of road traffic. The main change instigated by Vision Zero is a new way of dividing responsibilities for road safety. This is estimated to achieve a possible reduction in the number of fatalities by a quarter to one third over a ten-year period. 

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the study were to:

• provide a review of the Vision Zero policy in Sweden;
• determine the acceptability of a Vision Zero policy in other European Union countries and by international organizations;
• identify the circumstances leading to its adoption, the risks associated with such a policy, the costs and benefits of adopting a Vision Zero policy in the UK and to consult key stakeholders to test the acceptability or otherwise of such a policy;
• undertake a risk assessment of the UK adopting a zero road traffic accident fatality and serious injury policy
• undertake a backcasting analysis to identify a policy implementation schedule that would result in achieving a Vision Zero target in 30 years.

HOW IS THIS CHANGE AFFECTING INDIA?

ROAD ACCIDENT SCENARIO IN INDIA

Many developing countries including India have a serious road accident problem. Fatality rates (defined as, road accidental deaths per 10,000 vehicles) are quite high in comparison to developed countries. While in Europe and North America the situation is generally improving, many developing countries face a worsening situation. Apart from the humanitarian aspects of the problem, road accidents cost countries of developing world at least one percent of their Gross National Product (GNP) each year – sums that those can ill afford to lose. Compared to causes of death more commonly associated with the developing world, deaths from road accidents are by no means insignificant. The nature of problem in developing countries is in many ways different from that in industrialized world. The proportion of commercial and public service vehicles involved in road accidents are often much greater. Pedestrians and cyclists are often the most vulnerable. Lack of medical facilities in these countries is considered to be an important factor leading to high death rates.

There is an alarming increase in accidental deaths on Indian roads. Table 1 presents the rate of road accidental deaths in India from the year 1991 to 1998. Fatality risk (defined as, road accidental deaths per 1,00,000 population) in India is increasing over the years, from 6.7 in 1991 to 7.9 in 1998. During the period from 1991 to 1998, road accidental deaths have increased at a rate of 4.44 percent per annum while the population of the country has increased by only 1.92 percent per annum.

It is believed that road accidents are increasing since motor vehicle population is. increasing with greater rates than the expansion of road network. Presently, vehicle population in India is over 37 million. During recent years, vehicular population is growing at an annual rate of around 10%.  Young people, predominantly males are affected most Evidence from various national reports (NCRB, SRS, MCCD) as well as few independent studies indicate that RTIs and fatalities are five times higher in males (82-86%) compared to females, due to greater exposure to unsafe traffic environments as well as due to their greater risk-taking behaviours. Deaths begin to rise from 14-15 years of age, peaks at around 25-34 years and shows a decline in later years of life. Summary of evidence from large sample studies across India reveal that 30% of all persons involved in road crashes are aged between 21-30 years (6,7,8). Most accidents among males occurred in their productive age group of 18- 60 years. Four percent of all road accident fatalities occurred in children, while elderly beyond 60 years contributed to 3% of RTI deaths.

The 5 years of Bangalore Road safety and Injury Prevention Programme (BRSP) revealed that road deaths and injuries among children was 5% and 7%, while elderly accounted for 10% and 3% respectively. In both the groups, males were predominant with a ratio of 6:1 and 4:1 respectively. Despite accelerated motorization, walking, cycling and travel in  or 3 wheelers remain the predominant modes of Indian travel. Different categories of road users, both motorized and non-motorized types, share the existing roads but differ in their vulnerability to RTIs. Based on a summary of available data from Indian studies, it can be concluded that pedestrians (30–40%), two wheeler riders/millions (30-40%) and cyclists (~10%) account for nearly 80% of road deaths and injuries, which is in contrast with official reports due to fallacies in reporting practices.

This is also at variance with data from HICs where motorcar occupants contribute the most. The nationally representative million death study revealed that 37% were pedestrian deaths and 20% were two-wheeler user.

Highways are the neural links of connectivity, but are unsafe Indian Highways (54,72,144 kilometres) account for 4.84% of road length but contribute to 52.4% of road accidents and 63% of road deaths in India . In the total road network, national and state highways account for 97,991 and 1,67,09 kms respectively. There are many factors that make the highways prone to RTIs-- unsafe design, heterogeneous traffic, roads that promote speed, exposure of people to vehicular movement, driver fatigue during long journeys, night driving, conspicuity issues and under-developed trauma care systems.

The Global Road Safety Status Report-- (GRSSR) 2015 reports that the current level of enforcement pertaining to helmet usage in India is rated at 4 (out of 10), with only 40% of riders wearing helmets Indian Highways account for 4.84% of road length but contribute to 52.4% of road accidents and 63% of road deaths.

Nearly 59,000 accidents occurred among young drivers with a learner’s license and 45,000 occurred among those without driving license in India in 2015. Information from hospital studies points out that 5.8–10% of all accidents are due to defective vehicles based on self reports.

LET HAVE A LOOK TOWARDS SWEDEN ‘VISION ZERO’ POLICY

THE SWEDISH APPROACH TO ROAD SAFETY

The responsibility of road safety has traditionally been placed on the individual road user rather than on the designers of the system. Road safety has tended to focus on encouraging good behavior by road users via licensing, testing, education, training and publicity. Sweden is among those countries with the lowest number of traffic fatalities in relation to its population. However, in spite of this excellent record, in 1997 the Swedish Parliament introduced a new approach to road safety called “Vision Zero”. Vision Zero is based on a refusal to accept human deaths or lifelong suffering as a result of road traffic accidents. It requires moving the emphasis away from reducing the number of accidents to eliminating the risk of chronic health impairment caused by road accidents. Vision Zero in Sweden requires fatalities and serious injuries to be reduced to zero by 2020.

The 1990 Swedish National Traffic Safety Programme set a target of less than 600 fatalities for traffic safety by 2000. In 1993, the Road Safety Office merged and became the Swedish National Road Administration (SNRA). In 1994 the SNRA, now responsible for national traffic safety work, presented a National Traffic Safety Programme for the period 1995–2000. A new target of 400 fatalities for the year 2000 was adopted. This original target was achieved in 1994. The intentions of the National Traffic Safety Programme, with ten sub-targets for traffic behaviour, were not reached but abandoned with the discussion of the Vision Zero concept. An interim target of reducing the number of road accident fatalities from 600 in 2000 to 270 in 2007 was adopted as a move towards the Vision Zero target. The annual number of fatalities has remained constant during the period 1994 to 2004. In 2004, there were 480 deaths (EC, 2004).

Vision Zero requires a paradigm shift in addressing the issue of road safety. It requires abandoning the traditional economic model where road safety is provided at reasonable cost and the traditional transport model in which safety must be balanced against mobility. At the core of the Vision Zero is the biomechanical tolerance of human beings. Vision Zero promotes a road system where crash energy cannot exceed human tolerance. While it is accepted that crashes in the transport system occur due to human error, Vision Zero requires no crash should be more severe than the tolerance of humans. The blame for fatalities in the road system is assigned to the failure of the road system rather that the road user. Vision Zero is based on the ethical imperative that :

“It can never be ethically acceptable that people are killed or seriously injured when moving

within the road system.” Accidents have to be prevented from leading to fatalities and serious injuries by designing roads, vehicles and transport services in a way that someone can tolerate the violence of an accident without being killed or seriously injured. Common long-term disabling injuries and non-injury accidents are outside the scope of the vision. Vision Zero is estimated to achieve a possible reduction in the number of fatalities by a quarter to one third over a ten-year period .

Vision Zero strategic principles are:

• The traffic system has to adapt to take better account of the needs, mistakes and vulnerabilities of road users.
• The level of violence that the human body can tolerate without being killed or seriously injured forms the basic parameter in the design of the road transport system.
• Vehicle speed is the most important regulating factor for safe road traffic. It should be determined by the technical standards for roads and vehicles so as not to exceed the level of violence that the human body can tolerate.

The Approach is:

1. To create a road environment that minimizes the risk of road users making mistakes and that prevents serious human injury when designing, operating and maintaining the state road network.
2. To set an example in the SNRA’s own operations through the quality assurance (from a road safety perspective) of journeys and transports in all areas of activity, both those undertaken in house and those contracted.
3. To analyze accidents that have resulted in death or serious injury in traffic and, where feasible, initiate suitable measures so as to avoid the repetition of such accidents.
4. To stimulate all players within the road transport system to work resolutely towards achieving mutually targeted objectives and conduct the work on road safety in close co-operation with all players within the road transport system.
5. To take advantage of, and further develop, the commitment of the general public to safer traffic.

In 1999, a short-term action plan was launched by the Swedish government, containing 11

points aimed at strengthening and stimulating traffic safety work in accordance with Vision Zero principles (Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications, 1999):

1. A focus on the most dangerous roads (e.g. priority for installing centre-guardrails for eliminating head-on collisions, removing obstacles next to roads, etc.)
2. Safer traffic in built-up areas (e.g. a safety analysis of street networks in 102 municipalities led to reconstruction of streets; the efforts are continuing.)
3. Emphasis on the responsibilities of road users (e.g. creating more respect for traffic rules in particular with regard to speed limits, seat belt use, and intoxicated driving.)
4. Safe bicycle traffic (e.g. campaign for using bicycle helmets, a voluntary bicycle safety standard.)
5. Quality assurance in transport work (e.g. public agencies with large transportation needs will receive traffic safety (and environmental impact) instructions on how to assure the quality of their own transportation services and those procured from outside firms.)
6. Winter tyre requirement (e.g. a new law mandating specific tyres under winter road conditions.)
7. Making better use of Swedish technology (e.g. promoting the introduction of technology - available or to be developed - that relatively soon can be applied, such as seat belt reminders, incar speed adaptation systems (ISA), alcohol ignition interlocks for preventing drinking and driving, and electronic driver licences.)
8. Responsibilities of road transport system designers (e.g. establishment of an independent organisation for road traffic inspection is proposed by a commission of inquiry on the responsibilities of the public sector and the business community for safe road traffic.)
9. Public responses to traffic violations (e.g. a commission of inquiry is reviewing existing traffic violation rules in the light of the Vision Zero principles and of ensuring due process of law.)
10. Alternative forms of financing new roads (e.g. possibilities are studied for other forms of supplementing public financing of major road projects.)

OPERATIONAL STRATEGY FOR VISION ZERO

While acknowledging the importance of political commitment to a safe road system, Tingvall and Haworth (1999) outlined an operational strategy and key steps of Vision Zero to be implemented in the short term without political commitment. These three key steps in an operational strategy include:

1 Gradually aligning vehicle speed to the inherent safety of the system This involves ‘rating’ the infrastructure-speed in terms of safety and compares the end product with the current situation. This will determine whether it is more effective to reduce speed or modify infrastructure.

Aspects to be considered in determining a safe travel speed include:

• roadsides 
• land separation
• intersection  
• unprotected road users 

In terms of vehicle safety, three steps can be taken: seat belt interlocks; alcohol interlocks and intelligent speed limiters. In the long term such measures will have a substantial impact, especially within a safer infrastructure.

Stimulating the community to use the system in a safer way By demanding professional users of the system to focus on issues such as speed, purchase of cars and fatigue a large proportion of the traffic can be influenced. A safe road system would affect transport within an organisation as well as transport provided by others (e.g. taxis, rental cars etc). A “safe” way of using the road transport system should be defined in order to assist the market; for example, in the form of modern quality management systems such as the ISO standards. This would ensure that the process is demand-driven rather than regulatory. Vision Zero is a long-term strategy in which the total road safety system is ‘aligned’ with the vulnerabilities of road users. A system which is currently based on tolerating human error will eventually be changed to one where the responsibility for the safety of the system is shared between key actors such as the automotive industry, road engineers and traffic planners.

SAFETY AND MOBILITY

Under the concept of Vision Zero the loss of human life and health is unacceptable. This requires the road transport system to be designed to prevent such an event occurring. Mobility therefore should not be traded for safety. Speed is used in Vision Zero as an operational definition of mobility. It states that speed must be limited to a level which guarantees an inherently safe road system. Speed limits should be determined by the technical standards of vehicles and roads so as not to exceed the level of violence a human body can tolerate. The principle implies designing the system for certain use with margins for human error and failings The human tolerance of the pedestrian will be exceeded if the vehicle is travelling over 30km/hr. Therefore if higher speeds are desired in urban areas, the option would be to separate pedestrian crossings from traffic. If not, pedestrian crossings or vehicles would need to be designed to generate speeds of a maximum of 30 km/h. Table 2.3 presents the maximum speed related to infrastructure based on best practice in vehicle design and 100 per cent restraint use. It provides an example of an inherently safe system i.e. one that does not produce serious or fatal injuries – a key goal of speed management. It follows that the safer the roads and vehicles the higher the speed that can be accepted .

Long-term maximum travel speeds based on best practice in vehicle design 

Type of infrastructure and traffic Possible travel speed (km/h):

• Locations with possible conflicts between pedestrians and cars - 30
• Intersections with possible side impacts between cars - 50
• Roads with possible frontal impacts between cars - 70
• Roads with no possibility of a side impact or frontal impact (only impact with the infrastructure) - 100+

PUTTING ONE STEP FURTHER TO INITIALIZE POLICY IN FUTURE OF INDIA

HOW TO TURN INDIA TO VISION ZERO?

What needs to be done now?

• Establish a lead road safety agency at national and state levels to govern all aspects pertaining to road safety; such agencies should be guided and supported by a national/ state road safety action plan(s) and be equipped with the power, expertise and capacity to carry out the necessary activities independently.
• Notify legislations with regard to helmets, seat belts, drinking and driving, speeding, day time running lights and use of cell phones on an urgent basis in all Indian states. These legislations should be implemented by enforcement agencies that need to augment and train their manpower, upgrade technology, and enforce on a continuous basis.
• Establish a dedicated and ring–fenced road safety fund at national and state levels to cover all road safety initiatives. Funding should come from both central and state levels and invested in managing the five pillars of road safety.
• Mandate road safety audits for all new and existing roads from the designing stage itself.
• Road building agencies should be held responsible for violating norms. Low cost engineering solutions should be encouraged across the states to solve safety inadequacies of all roads possibly safe.

What needs a sustainable engagement?

• Build capacities across various sectors—police, health, and transport- at central and state

levels in a planned and phased manner.

• Establish Centres of excellence in road safety in different domains or specialities that can continuously work towards road safety by undertaking capacity building, training, research, monitoring and all related activities.

• Strengthen trauma care on a priority basis in all district hospitals, medical college hospitals

and trauma care centers that are already established or under consideration in all states with

required human, financial and technical resources to cover both hospital care and rehabilitation services.

• Adopt the principle of safe systems approach for design of all new roads. The road design

should be forgiving, factoring in the assumption that people will always make mistakes ; such mistakes should not lead to death and life threatening injury.

• Strengthen road safety information systems to obtain reliable, robust and good quality data to guide all road safety activities. Mechanisms to obtain good data through the newly introduced road accident data collection formats should be strengthened at district and state levels with technical inputs.

• Undertake large scale advocacy activities and targeted public awareness campaigns to place road safety on national agenda and bring behavioral changes among road users

INTERVENTIONS THAT WORK

• Presence of a lead agency that can coordinate, develop, guide, formulate, fund, implement,

monitor and evaluate road safety activities at national and state level. This agency needs to have requisite mandate, power, staffing and funding to drive all road safety activities.

• Well drafted national road safety action plans at national and provincial levels to guide states, road safety authorities and stakeholders to effectively implement and monitor road safety activities.

• Setting national and state targets to ascertain progress and to measure effectiveness of

interventions.

• Mandatory road safety audits to monitor conditions of existing roads and bring in appropriate and feasible corrections to avoid crashes.

• Shift towards mass public transport systems which promise a decrease in direct exposure to travel environment, reduce congestion and reduce crashes.

• Low cost road and vehicle engineering solutions which improve safety.

• Measures that control, restrict, and limit speeding through a combination of road engineering and vehicle technologies such as traffic calming measures, speed cameras, speed governors, traffic signal lights, speed bumps, speed control devices etc

. • Traffic separation on all possible roads between speeding traffic and vulnerable road users

• Mandatory helmet legislation covering both riders and pillions and enforced in a uniform and visible manner with reasonably high penalties for violators

• Mandatory drink drive laws that promote checks and enforcement by police in a random,

visible and uniform manner with reasonably high and stiff penalties

• Mandatory ban on cell-phone use during driving and enforcement to prevent driver distraction

• Mandatory seat belts laws for passengers seated in the front and rear of all vehicles of medium

to high engine capacities.

• Graduated driver licensing systems for reducing crashes, especially among younger people

• Enforcement of mandatory day time running lights to improve vehicle visibility

• Child restraints and booster seats appropriate to age of children to reduce injuries and fatalities among children.

• Pedestrian-inclusive road design, access to walking and crossing facilities with enforcement to reduce pedestrian crashes and deaths.

• Organized and coordinated trauma care systems covering prehospital, transport, triage and take  care

• Training of physicians in ATLS and paramedics in BTLS to decrease mortality rates of trauma victims.

• Community and institution based rehabilitation services to reduce post-crash disabilities

• Passive countermeasures or automatic protection to reduces active participation by road users

• Legislation and enforcement supported by community acceptance and engagement Interventions that have limited impact

• Mere education and awareness campaigns without change in road or vehicles or systems has not been impactful

• Education of children and school road safety programmes has shown mixed results with

increase in knowledge that may or mot get converted to actual reduction in deaths and injuries

• Campaigns without a defined target and a fixed outcome with limited reach are ineffective.

• Post license driver education to follow safe road behaviours has not been found effective

• Building roads without embedded safety features can be riskier from a safety point of view

• Mere presence of a legislation and token enforcement that has limited coverage has also not yielded positive results.

Safe systems approach is the need of the hour:

The principles of safe system approach are:

• Recognition of human error in the transport system
• Promotion of a shared responsibility
• Promotion of ethical values in road safety
• Recognition of human physical vulnerability and limits
• Promotion of a systems approach

SUMMARY

The wide ranging discussions and debates about road safety in India point to a strong need for data-driven and implementable mechanisms within a framework for road safety. Such a defined framework can bring together policy makers, build consensus among administrators and political leadership, aid data driven programmes, help prioritization of activities, improve public engagement and convergence of actions, all of which are considered key elements for success in road safety.

India being a federal state, the roles and responsibilities in road safety is the shared responsibility between centre and the state. Hence, there needs to be a framework for activities at the central level with corresponding activities at the state level. Most significantly, as health, transport and safety, including road safety, is the direct responsibility of Indian states, the need

for such a framework at the state level is critical and essential. Furthermore, implementation of many activities in road safety needs to be seen across 624 Indian districts with well-coordinated strategies. This requires strong institutional mechanisms with an investment by governments and international agencies in road safety. As there is no single solution that works for all; a wide range of activities are required to strengthen road safety at national and state levels. Within a defined framework, prioritization of activities should be considered at the highest level by

concerned authorities based on global understanding, evidence available, existing expertise and capacity, required finances, and current administrative and legislative framework. Since safety should be an essential component of India’s growth in coming years, “Safety and Mobility” should be the focus in the interest of road users. This can only happen, if road safety is recognized as science and given importance in the coming year.