New Delhi: India currently has 1% of the total volume of vehicles around the world, but accounts for as much as 11 per cent of global road accidents, according to the World Bank.
There are 4.5 lakh road crashes in the country per year, in which nearly 1.5 lakh people die – highest in the world.
A survey, conducted on the basis of these alarming figures on road accidents, found that 75% of low-income households in India had a loss in income in the event of a road crash involving a family member. More specifically, those families lose over seven months of salary. In the case of road crash involving a higher-income family, the loss is less than a month’s salary.
The World Bank commissioned the survey in association with Save LIFE Foundation (SLF) to analyze how road crashes leading to deaths and injuries impact families and how they cope with the trauma and loss of income, reported The Financial Express.
Releasing the report titled a report titled ‘Traffic Crash Injuries and Disabilities: The Burden on Indian Society’, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that there were some alarming findings and the government will act on them.
He added that the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways will engage with the SaveLife Foundation and World Bank to try and frame relevant laws and policies needed to address the challenges.
