Enforcements To Save Lives on Indian Roads

In India, millions of people encounter dangerous situations on our roads. City streets are crowded with pedestrians, motorized vehicles and cyclists vying for the same space. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 300,000 lives were lost on the roads in India in 2016. Two out of every five traffic deaths involved riders of motorized two- and three-wheelers. Drivers exceed speed limits dangerously, putting others also at significant risk.  

With the right interventions, these tragedies are entirely preventable. This is why we call them “crashes” instead of “accidents.” Despite it being illegal, people often ride motorcycles without wearing helmets or ride in cars without buckling their seatbelts. Many motorcycle drivers wear helmets, but don’t strap them correctly. Passengers rarely wear helmets at all—less than 10 percent of the time, as of 2015. Lack of helmet use, along with improper use, is a serious problem that leads to injuries and deaths. 

The public health challenge is clear. How can we get millions of vehicle users and pedestrians to adopt lifesaving behaviors so that they don’t have to suffer injury, death or other personal consequences?  

Mass media campaigns are a useful intervention if executed strategically, telling emotionally compelling stories that propel strong enforcement of traffic laws, and help people adopt safer road behaviors by complying with regulations. The key is to make drivers confront the deadly consequences of risky behavior. No one wants to be faced with the thought of death or permanent disability for oneself or one’s loved ones. But that emotion, combined with the message that simply clicking a helmet strap properly or buckling a seat-belt can be lifesaving, can change people’s behavior the next time they are on the road.  

This evidence-driven approach was the foundation of “Consequences,” a powerful mass media campaign launched in Mumbai. The four-week campaign, hosted on more than 60 billboards and on social media, graphically depicted the risk of death from a motorcycle crash and was accompanied by intensified enforcement of helmet use by the Mumbai Traffic Control Branch. The collaborative effort by the Mumbai Traffic Control Branch and Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety encouraged drivers and passengers of motorcycles to wear helmets and to properly strap them on.  

An evaluation showed that the campaign reached more than 4 million people and that more than 90% of those who recalled the campaign said it made them more likely to wear a strapped helmet. Mumbai’s experience has shown that progress is within the reach of every city. Other cities across India—and around the world—should follow Mumbai’s example to reduce death and injury from road crashes with strong media campaigns and enforcement as part of a comprehensive road safety strategy. 

Vaishakhi Mallik

Guest Author The author is Associate Director, South Asia, for Vital Strategies’ Policy, Advocacy, and Communication division.